The Angel Cards
by Amethyst Bubble
Summary: [AU] The things you find in libraries... Bored out of their minds, cousins Daisuke and Dark decide to do a little snooping and find two very dangerous magical artifacts. [Future shounen ai, SatoDai, KradDark]
1. Card I Black Wings and Fairy's Flight

Author's Note: Well, here it is...The first chapter of The Angel Cards. I'm all excited! My first post-worthy DNAngel fic! Oooh...Feel the excitement! Or...don't. That's fine too, of course. Oh, yes, the point of this little note. If anyone finds the basic plot familiar, that's because it's based of CLAMP's CardCaptor Sakura. Well, loosely based. I was watching a movie with my mother and it wasn't all that good, so my mind started wandering and well, I came up with this. I actually really like it, especially in later chapters. Well, read on, if you wish!

Disclaimer: Amethyst Bubble does not own DNAngel. She had considered saving up money to try and buy it, but then she looked at her shopping list (full of manga and anime) and realized that she can barely save up for the second DVD and the rest of the manga, let alone the rights to the series.

WARNINGS: Slight language (courtesy of Dark Mousy), future violence (nothing incredibly graphic), and future shounen ai (SatoshiDaisuke, KradDark).

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The Angel Cards

Chapter One-Card One

By Amethyst Bubble

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The snow was coming down in torrents. It made what was already a cold, snowy, gray day even, well, colder, snowier and grayer. Any children who had had visions of playing in the fluffy white substance had long ago surrendered to the weather (and their parent's requests) and returned inside.

Two such children were currently climbing the winding staircase to the upstairs floor of their house. In their state of boredom, the elder of the two had come up with a plan. Maybe it wasn't the best plan in the world, but at least it would cure their boredom.

"Come on, Daisuke!" Dark grabbed his cousin's arm, tugging him up the stairs.

Daisuke hesitantly followed the purple haired teen, a quizzical look in his ruby eyes, "I don't know, Dark… Dad's library? Are you sure you want to look in there?"

"There's got to be _something _interesting in there!" Dark exclaimed as they reached the top of the staircase, "Why else would it be locked?" Fishing into the pocket of his black jeans he pulled out a hairpin and winked roguishly at Daisuke. "Lucky you to have a cousin like me, huh?"

"Yeah…lucky me…" Daisuke muttered to himself, voice containing just a tiny hint of sarcasm.

Locating the right door, Dark tried the knob, just in case. It was locked. Smirking to himself, he bent down and inserted the hairpin into the keyhole. Moments later, the door swung open, revealing shelf after shelf of books.

Dark strode in, placing his hands on his hips as he surveyed his surroundings, "…And here I thought there'd be treasure or something." He sighed and tilted his head to one side, purple bangs falling into strikingwineeyes.

"My father is not a pirate!" Daisuke protested from his place in the doorway. "Dark, why don't we go do something else?" They really weren't supposed to be in here. The door had been locked, after all. Locked doors were meant to keep people out.

Dark frowned. Once he started something, he liked to finish it. Especially since there had to be something good in the library. The door had been locked, after all. Locked doors always contained something good.

Keeping his serious frown in place he turned to Daisuke and said solemnly, "Daisuke, it's this, or we go look for porn on the internet." He hid his grin, knowing that would get a reaction out of his cousin.

Daisuke turned about fifty two shades of red, pink and purple, "D-D-Dark!" He sputtered, making strangled noises.

Now wearing an innocent smile, Dark turned back to the shelves, "Well, I guess we'll just have to settle for this then!"

Reluctantly, Daisuke followed him over to the nearest shelf, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Exactly twenty three minutes and nineteen seconds later, Dark was really starting to believe that there really wasn't anything interesting in this mountain of books. He let out a frustrated sigh, pushing yet another volume of world history back into place.

Daisuke looked over at him, "Oh, yeah, Dark, this is really fun." He said, voice containing a little more then a hint of sarcasm this time. His hand brushed against the cover of a book, dislodging the dust that had gathered there. He coughed, swatting at the dust particles with his hand and covering his mouth with the other.

"You know, the porn option is still-" Dark stopped mid-sentence. Something had caught his eye. Walking over to the shelf Daisuke stood by, he bent down slightly so he was eye-level with Daisuke, and more importantly, the shelf the younger had previously been looking at.

Between coughs, Daisuke managed to splutter, "No way! Dark, you pervert, that's gross!"

Dark waved him off, pulling two books off of the shelf and carrying them to a desk that leaned against the wall. "Daisuke," He motioned to his cousin. "Come look at this."

He picked up one of the books, a black and purple hardcover with a silver spider web design covering all of the cover, except for the center, where there was nothing but blank space, as if it was waiting for someone to draw something there. On the bottom, in flowing silver script, the words 'The Fallen' were inscribed.

Daisuke was more drawn to the second book. The cover was red and white, with pink cherry blossoms spiraling across it in a graceful design. Like The Fallen, the center of this book was also blank, just waiting to be filled. In the same flowery script, the words 'The Keeper' were scrawled across the bottom. Both were bound shut with chains and a padlock, though the chains on The Fallen were considerably heavier.

"These are weird, aren't they?" Dark turned the Fallen over, examining the silver spider webs on the back cover, "Wonder why they're locked?"

"I think we should put them back," Daisuke said, suddenly gripped by fear. "I don't like them, Dark…" He held The Keeper at arms length, eyeing it warily.

Dark laughed, "It's just a book, Dai." He cast an amused glance at his cousin, "Besides, I like this one…It's intriguing…" He flipped it back over to the front cover, tracing the intricate designs with a fingertip. They felt like they were embossed. Dark's hand brushed against the chains and he frowned. Fishing into his pocket, he once again pulled out his trusty hairpin.

"Dark?" Daisuke's voice broke through his thoughts, "What are you doing?"

Dark nodded to the hairpin in his hand and then to The Fallen in a silent explanation to his cousin. His curiosity was nearly overwhelming now; he _had _to see what the book contained.

"Oh, Dark, don't!" Daisuke cried, tugging on his cousin's sleeve. For some reason, he did not want to find out what was in those books. Why did Dark always have to be so curious about everything?

Dark laughed again, "Like I said, they're just books, Dai. Don't you want to find out what's in them? It's got to be something good, or else they wouldn't be chained shut." The lock came undone with a click as Dark finished his sentence. He removed the chains and blew away the dust that had gathered under them. Placing the pile of chains on the desk, he moved to open the book.

Daisuke watched anxiously, biting his lip.

The book opened. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Daisuke suddenly felt very silly; what had he been expecting? An explosion? A surge of dark energy? He'd been reading too much manga.

"Weird… look at these…" Dark murmured, holding up what looked like a tarot card. Daisuke leaned into get a better look. It looked like a tarot card, but to someone with a trained eye, it obviously wasn't. The card had a border with the same silver spider web design that covered the book it belonged to. In the center of the card was an image of two gigantic black feathered wings, spread out majestically. 'The Black Wings' was written across the bottom of the card in that same flowery script that appeared on the covers of both books.

Dark turned the card over in his hand, staring at the back, "A book of cards, eh? Doesn't seem like something that would have to be chained up." Snatching The Keeper out of Daisuke's hands, he looked it over, "Let's see if this one's got cards in it too."

A new wave of fear washed over Daisuke. Taking a deep breath, he pushed it back, telling himself that he was just being paranoid.

"Argh!" Dark growled lowly, glowering at the book, "Why won't you unlock?!" He shook the book as if demanding an answer from it. Of course, because it was a book and therefore an inanimate object, it could not give him any sort of answer.

Daisuke crept up to his cousin, trying to take the book from him, "Maybe it's a sign that we shouldn't open them…" The words died in his throat as his hand brushed against the lock and Dark let out what Daisuke could have sworn was a squeal of glee.

"It unlocked!" The purple haired teen exclaimed, "Wow, Dai, you touched it and it came undone. You've got the magic touch!" He grinned widely at the younger boy.

Daisuke gulped, cringing. "That's…great, just great…" He mumbled to himself.

Dark opened flipped back the cover, examining the contents, "Yeah, it's some more of those weird cards…Guess they're like sets or something…" He held the book out to Daisuke, still turning The Black Wings over in one hand.

Daisuke took the book from Dark, gazing at the intricately drawn cards inside of it. He gently ran a finger over the top card, admiring the beautiful petals that swirled around its edges.

Then, something odd happened. As Daisuke touched the card, a stream of blinding light issued forth from the book. He screamed, dropping the book to the ground and raising his hands to shield his eyes against the surge of light.

"What the hell?!" Dark's voice came from somewhere on his right.

As suddenly as the light had appeared, it dimmed, and even though the windows in the room were all shut, a strong wind started whipping around the room. Daisuke lowered his hands in time to see the wind form into a swirling cyclone in the middle of the room, knocking books of the shelves and throwing him and Dark to their knees. He heard Dark swear loudly as he was thrown against a bookshelf.

Daisuke stared wide eyed as the winds swept the cards from their books, both sets of cards melting into the swirling cyclone. The Black Wings, still clutched tightly in Dark's hand, tried to fly away with the rest of them, but the purple haired boy gripped it so tightly the joints of his fingers turned white.

"You're not going anywhere!" Dark shouted at the card over the howl of the winds, holding onto the card with both hands now. He wasn't going to let this one fly away too.

As suddenly as they had come, the winds stopped. The two boys sat in silence for a few minutes, stunned. When they were sure that nothing else would happen, Daisuke shakily got to his feet and Dark sat up, removing one hand from the card to touch the back of his head where he'd been slammed into the book case.

"Ow…" He moaned, wincing as his fingers brushed against his the back of his head. Withdrawing his hand, he glanced at his fingertips. "Damnit," He growled, shutting his eyes.

Daisuke scrambled over to his cousin, kneeling in front of him, "Dark, are you okay?" Catching sight of his Dark's bloody fingertips, he gasped, "You're bleeding!

Dark opened one violet eye and glared indignantly at Daisuke. "Really now? I hadn't noticed."

Ignoring the other's sarcastic tone, Daisuke got to his feet, "I'm going to go get mom, okay? You wait here!" He dashed for the door, only to stop right in front of it.

"Hey, Dai...what're you doing?" Dark blinked, wondering why his cousin had suddenly stopped moving. Well, that and the fact that his head really hurt and it wasn't going to get any better with Dai just standing around like that.

"Err, Dark, who is this?" Daisuke moved aside to reveal a girl about his age with long dark hair standing by the door. The girl looked around, blinking in a slightly dazed manner.

"... Hey, beautiful..." Dark winked in the girl's direction. His head may have hurt like hell and that girl may have appeared out of no where, but that was absolutely no excuse not to turn on the charms.

The girl spun around to look at Dark, the skirt of her violet dress fanning out as she did so, "Uh...where am I?" She asked. Before he had a chance to answer, she spoke again, "Never mind, that's a stupid question!" She clapped her hands together, her dazed look turning into a smile, "You must have released the cards!"

"The...cards...?" Daisuke blinked. This was all too much.

---

"Why oh why did I ever let you open those books?" Daisuke wailed, burying his face in his palms as Emiko left the room to retrieve the few final touches for their costumes. Costumes for what? Capturing the cards, of course.

It had taken an awful lot of explaining from the girl, Risa Harada, the so-called "Guardian of The Keeper" and a few of the Niwa's large books on magical artifacts before it had even begun to make sense, but in the end, the pieces had begun to fit together in the two teen's heads.

And they hadn't liked it at all.

"Hey, hey, don't blame me!" Dark said, fingering the one card he'd managed to hang on to, The Black Wings. On the back of the card, his name had been signed in black ink; one of the books had contained a sealing method for the cards, to make sure that they wouldn't fly away like they had in the library. The scratch on his head had been cleaned up, but now his head hurt for a different reason. The whirlwind of events that had happened ever since they'd gone into the library was almost too much for him.

"Well, who am I supposed to blame then?" Daisuke shot back, "It was your idea to go into the library in the first place!" He pulled at the sleeves of his black shirt, scowling slightly. Why exactly did they need to get so dressed up for capturing these cards? Well, at least it seemed to make his mother happy to play dress-up with him and his cousin...

"The cards didn't actually fly away until _you _touched them!" Dark snapped, waving the card around.

Daisuke pouted; he had to admit that was true, "Well, at least you had enough brains to hold on to that one card, so the situation isn't completely hopeless..." He mumbled, not wanting to give Dark too much credit. After all, no need to inflate an already too-large ego.

Dark almost grinned, still waving the card, "The Black Wings." He said the name of the card with mild enthusiasm as he held it up to the light. Only, it wasn't there anymore.

"...Wha?" Dark looked down at his empty hand with a puzzled expression.

Daisuke gasped, "Dark, your back!" He pointed at his cousin, ruby red eyes wide as saucers.

"What?" Dark spun around to look in the mirror, only to see a pair of huge, black feathered wings extending from his back. "... What the hell...?" He murmured softly, his shocked mind absorbing this new information.

"How did you do that?" Daisuke asked, walking up to Dark and running a hand over the wings now adorning his cousin's back. They certainly felt real. The feel of the feathers under his fingers felt just like they would on a bird's wings.

Dark shuddered, involuntarily folding the wings against his body, "Stop it, Dai! That tickles," He sent a glare at his younger cousin.

Daisuke withdrew his hand, looking the wings over curiously, "Do you think you could fly with them?" He asked, casting a questioning glance at Dark.

Dark's eyes lit up, "Fly? Maybe..." He spread out the wings, only to knock several books off the nearby shelf. "...Whoops..." Dark laughed nervously. _Note to self: do not attempt flying indoors._

Emiko appeared in the doorway, clutching a couple black ribbons in one hand, "What was that noise?" She asked, peering into the room.

"Ehh..." Dark folded his newly acquired wings against his back nervously.

"Oh!" Emiko gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of the wings that had sprouted from her nephew's back. "Dark, you released The Black Wings!" She cried, clapping her hands together in glee.

"Err, yeah..." Dark muttered. "But just how did I do it?"

---

"Dammit, it's cold!" Dark, now wingless, shivered, pulling his black trench coat tighter around himself. "Why do we have to capture the card tonight?"

"Because," Risa spoke up, walking along the deserted, moonlit street next to Daisuke, "If the cards go unchecked and uncaptured, they could cause incredible amounts of chaos." She'd been sent along with the two boys to capture the first card that had started causing mischief. Said card had been spotted on the news, making a bulldog fly across town. Well, the card hadn't actually been spotted, but a flying bulldog was almost certainly the work of one of them. From the little stunt, Emiko had determined that it was a Keeper card by the name of Fairy's Flight. Upon hearing the name, Dark had burst out laughing.

"Yeah, it's going around making puppies do cartwheels in midair...Real dangerous," Dark muttered sarcastically, shivering slightly.

Risa pouted, "What if it dropped one of those poor little dogs?"

"Well, then the dog would fall and go spla-"

"Would you both knock it off?" Daisuke yelled. He was a patient person, really he was, but there was only so much any one individual could take. The poor little red-head was nearing the end of his rope and running out of sanity.

Dark and Risa fell silent, Dark brooding and Risa still pouting in a rather adorable manner. Silence reigned for a few moments. A few short, blessed moments.

And then, the silence was broken. It was Dark, of course, who broke it. "Erm, Daisuke? Is that cardboard box over there flying?" He pointed up ahead, where a cardboard box was indeed floating in midair.

Daisuke stared at it, then back at his cousin. No, he was not going to believe this. Really, he wasn't. "It's got to be the wind..." He murmured quietly, despite the fact that there was little to no breeze blowing currently. Certainly not enough to make a cardboard box flutter ten feet off the ground, at least.

Risa was jumping up and down with glee, "This is so exciting! The first card!" She squealed.

"Joy..." Daisuke mumbled. Dark elbowed his cousin in the ribs.

"Hey, you're the Keeper candidate; you've got to catch it!"

"How?" Daisuke asked, wide-eyed, "I don't know how!" He looked desperately from Dark to Risa.

Just then, the box went into a dive and would have hit Risa square in the face if she hadn't ducked.

She shrieked, covering her head with her arms, "I'm the guardian of The Keeper! You can't attack me!" It seemed to the card had other ideas as it went into another swoop. Risa screamed and ran for it.

"Hey!" Dark yelled after her, "Come back! You're the only one who knows what we're supposed to be doing!" When she didn't listen, he cursed under his breath.

Daisuke sweat dropped, "Dark, she's being chased by a cardboard box...what do you want her to do?"

Dark scuffed at the snow covering the ground, "I don't know...use magical powers to beat it up or something like that." If she didn't have magic powers, he swore someone up there was out to get him and Daisuke.

Once again, Daisuke sweat dropped, "But we're the candidates, Dark. Isn't that our job?"

"She could claw it to shreds, you know. Have you seen her fingernails? Claws, Dai, claws!"

Done with sweat dropping, Daisuke moved onto sighing, "Don't you think you should summon The Black Wings?" He wished his cousin would be more serious.

Dark stopped ranting and blinked once, twice, three times before he whipped out the card, "Oh, right." He mumbled, releasing the card. He stretched the gigantic wings that had sprouted from his back, grinning as he looked at them. They really did look cool.

As Dark attempted to take to the skies, Daisuke ran after Risa, shouting over his shoulder at Dark, "You try to knock it down from above and I'll see if I can hit it or something!" Locating the guardian and the possessed cardboard box, Daisuke tried to bat it away from the dark haired girl.

"Hey, leave her alone!" He shouted, delivering a mighty hit to the side of the box. It flew up high, away from the threat that the red-headed boy presented.

Offering a hand to Risa, Daisuke asked, "Are you okay?"

Risa lowered her arms from the defensive position over her head. She reached out to take Daisuke's hand, but stopped, eyes fixed on something behind him. Letting out another shriek, she had him in front of her as a sort of human shield before he could blink. Daisuke found that the box was back, and very, very angry.

For a good ten or so minutes, Daisuke was battered by the box (which didn't hurt all that much because, after all, it was just an old cardboard box) while Risa screamed from behind him, digging her fingernails into his shoulders, which hurt more then the box, because Dark was right; her nails were _sharp_.

Then, suddenly the box was gone and Daisuke found his face full of black feathers instead. "...Dark?"

"This flying stuff isn't as easy as birds make it seem!" His cousin responded as his feet touched the ground. Folding his wings against his back, he delivered a mighty punch to the box, which, in turn, tried to side-swipe him. Daisuke didn't know whether to be thankful for Dark's apparent fighting skills or be worried about where he had picked them up.

"You saved us!" Risa exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

Dark grinned widely, "How could I not rescue a damsel and distress? … Oh, and my little cousin, of course." He nodded in Daisuke's direction before turning back to Risa and giving her a charming smile.

The red-head slapped to his forehead, "Dark...Now is not the time. The box is back." Three seconds after the words had left his mouth, Dark had the box on the ground and was holding it down with one foot.

"So, how do we get this thing back to card form?" He asked, swiping violet bangs away from his eyes. The box swiped at his leg with one of its flaps and Dark scowled, pressing down harder with his heel.

Risa tapped a finger to her chin in an intellectual manner, as if trying to remember exactly how. Letting out a small 'ah' sound, she walked over to Dark and plucked a feather from his wings.

He yelped and glared at her, "What the hell was that for?" He scowled at the fact that it really did hurt when someone plucked feathers from _magical _wings. They weren't really attached to his body, so why did it hurt when someone plucked a feather from them? He hadn't known there would be pain involved in this 'card capturing' job. Then again, until this afternoon, he hadn't even known about the cards. He kind of regretted not listening to Daisuke and opening those books now.

Risa scowled in a 'do not question my motives' sort of way and handed the feather to Daisuke.

Daisuke blinked at the feather, "...What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Well, you've got to kind of spear Fairy's Flight's host with it," She explained, smiling now that the box was no longer a threat. "Pierce the box with it." The feathers were the nearest sharp object, and the plan was to inflict as much pain on the box without completely destroying it. If the host was destroyed, there was a good chance that the card would be destroyed as well.

Daisuke blinked quizzically for a moment before kneeling down before the box. Taking a breath and hoping that this would work like Risa said it would, Daisuke plunged the feather into the side of the box.

Silence reigned. Heavy, heavy silence.

After a few good minutes of everyone staring at the box, Dark's eyes slowly traveled to Risa, "...What's supposed to happen?"

"This has always worked before!" Risa protested, spreading her arms wide in frustration.

"How many times has this happened before, eh?" Dark asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He was finding this all very frustrating.

"Well, you're the third set of candidates...But the candidates before you...they...well, they failed..." She looked down at the snowy ground, scuffing some of the powdery white substance with her shoe.

Dark looked puzzled, "They failed? At what? Collecting all the cards?"

Risa shook her dark haired head, saying nothing.

Dark opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off by a soft sound a fluttering and a muffled yelp from Daisuke. The red-head was kneeling in the snow, searching for something. In a flash, he straightened up, a card with a cherry blossom patterned border clutched in his gloved hand.

"Fairy's Flight!" He announced, brandishing the card with his sleeve. Fishing a pen out his pocket, he flipped the card over, "I just have to sign my name, right?" He asked, glancing at Risa.

She nodded, her brown eyes still solemn from what she had been telling Dark before. Risa quickly put a smile on her face as he swiped the pen across the card in the form of a signature, reminding herself that that was then and this was now. She had to be cheerful and encourage them. It was her duty, after all.

As soon as he was done, she pounced, tackling him in a hug and loudly exclaiming, "You caught it! The first Keeper card!" She was definitely thinking on the sunny side of the street now, she thought to herself.

Daisuke blushed, awkwardly patting her on the back before she let go, taking a step back.

"Hey! How come Dai gets a hug?" Dark protested as he gingerly stepped off of the box.

Risa winked, "When you catch a card, you get a hug! The Black Wings doesn't count!" She stuck her tongue out in a teasing manner, doing a twirl so that her skirt fanned out.

"Aw, no fair!" Dark said as he willed The Black Wings to return to card form. As the purple tinted card drifted back towards the ground, Dark caught it in one fluid motion, sticking it into his pocket.

"Think of it as inspiration, Dark," Daisuke said in a teasing tone as he began walking back towards home, absentmindedly twirling Fairy's Flight between his fingers. It felt kind of cool, having a magical card in your possession. Especially one with the power of flight.

Risa flounced after him, excitedly chattering about adventures to come.

Dark followed at a slower pace, glancing over his shoulder every so often. Why did it suddenly feel like they were being watched? He shook it off as paranoia, quickening the pace of his strides.

---

Two figures surveyed the entire scene from the top of a building.

The shorter of the two gazed at the red-headed teen below in a shocked sort of manner, "Niwa…"

A cool breeze blew by, ruffling the long blond hair and white trench coat of the other. "Hmm? And who would this Niwa be exactly? Besides the Keeper candidate of course..." He turned an inquisitive glance to the teen besides him, smirking a bit. "He wouldn't be...someone _special_, would he?" He asked, narrowing his golden eyes in a cat-like manner.

Cold blue eyes hardened, "No. He's simply a classmate of mine."

"Ah," A disbelieving glance. "It would be awkward if he was someone close to you, after all."

A sigh, "I know, I know. You do not have to remind me." He knew his place, his job. How could he forget?

The small smirk the other wore widened, "Of course I don't. But all the same..." A pause as he glanced at the figures below them. "Don't get too attached."

Satoshi sighed, "I won't, Krad..."

---

Card One-Captured

---

Yaaay...first chapter down. I've written about five versions of this chapter. I can't say I'm all that happy with this one, but...It'll do. I like it the best out of the rest (which...says something about how much they sucked, doesn't it?). Despite the fact that I like this one the best, I still don't like it very much. The other chapters will be better, I swear. I suck at beginnings…

I'm having a hard time writing Risa. Sigh...I expected that, though. It's kind of hard to get her in character without making her all insanely in love with Dark (if I wrote her like that (AKA, in-character), I would probably gag). And...I'll stop rambling. Yes, yes I will. Reviews are appreciated, of course.

::Hopes everyone isn't incredibly out of character, even for an AU, but secretly knows that they are:: ::Sulks::


	2. Card II Explosion and Shield

Author's Note: Whoo! Second chapter! Took me long enough, eh? Well... there's an okay explanation for all of it. Sort of. Y'see, like I said in Something Wicked, my mother decided it would be good for to enter Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga contest. I mailed my entry in on Valentine's day, one day before the postmark deadline. Please wish me luck, everyone! And enjoy the chapter. Nine whole reviews for the first chapter of the first fanfiction I've ever written in this section. I think that's a pretty good start.

Disclaimer: Amethyst Bubble does not own DNAngel.

-

_The Angel Cards_

_Chapter Two- Capture Two_

_By Amethyst Bubble_

-

"So, we've got two books with thirty two cards each," Daisuke took a bite of his toast, chewing carefully.

"And I'm in charge of The Fallen," Dark gulped down half of the orange juice in his glass. "Dai's in charge of The Keeper," He said, setting his glass down.

Risa nibbled on her own jam covered toast, nodding, "That's about right." She said, licking the excess jam off her lips. "And when you both capture all the cards from your respective sets, then Daisuke becomes master of The Keeper and you, Dark, become master of The Fallen."

"So, how frequently do the cards show up?" Daisuke asked, eyeing Risa as she continued to devour her toast.

She shrugged, "They aren't on a schedule or anything like that. They kind of... show up when they feel like it." She smiled nervously, brushing a few locks of her hair behind her ear.

Dark rolled his eyes, "Well, that's just peachy..." He snorted. Magic cards that showed up whenever they wanted and expected him to go chasing after him? He did not like the sound of that at all.

"Will they continue to show up one at a time, or will of a bunch of them try to swarm us?" Daisuke queried.

Risa shook her head, "A lot of the Keeper cards have Fallen counterparts they will show up with, but other then that..." She trailed off, munching on her toast. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"Okay," Daisuke grabbed his schoolbag from where it hung on the back of his chair. "When we get home from school we'll talk about this some more, okay Risa?" He smiled at her, "Don't let my mother give you too hard a time!" He headed towards the hall, slipping on his shoes and coat. It was really too bad that most of the snow had melted over night; he wouldn't have minded a snow day to mull over the cards a bit more. He fingered the pocket of his school uniform, making sure Fairy's Flight was safe with him.

Dark was a few steps behind him, grumbling about snow and school, the two evil 's' words in Dark's vocabulary.

"Dai, sweetie! Dark!" Emiko's voice called. In a moment, the woman appeared in the hall, carrying one huge lunch with the Niwa family pet, With, dragging another one.

"Mom?" Daisuke's ruby eyes widened as he beheld the size of the lunches Emiko had packed. "Isn't that a lot of food?" He asked as she handed it to him. He nearly stumbled under the added weight.

"Now that you're the candidates for The Keeper and The Fallen, you'll have to keep your energy up!" She exclaimed cheerily as Dark took the second lunch from With. "Make sure to eat it all!"

"Hell yes!" Dark exclaimed, eyes lighting up at all the food.

"Bye bye!" Emiko called as the two left for school. Turning to The Keeper's guardian who stood in the hallway, Emiko's grin widened, "Risa, would you mind helping me with a little surprise for the boys?"

At the look on the woman's face, The Keeper guardian involuntarily gulped.

-

"Good morning, Takeshi!" Daisuke greeted as he entered his classroom. In a moment, his friend had him in a headlock.

"Hey, Daisuke!" Takeshi grinned widely, "Did you see the news yesterday? With the flying dog? Man, I wish I had been there with my camera!"

As Masahiro finally dragged Takeshi off the poor red-head, Daisuke rubbed his neck and replied, "Oh...yeah, that was something..." Again, he fingered the pocket that contained Fairy's Flight.

Across the classroom, blue eyes observed the entire scene, noting everything that happened. _Difference in posture at the mention of the dog incident yesterday,_ he thought, _apparent nervousness. Probably carrying the card with him, he just touched his pocket as if making sure that something was still there._ Satoshi Hiwatari almost smiled; Daisuke was so very easy to read.

Daisuke blinked as he caught Satoshi looking at him, "Oh...Good morning, Hiwatari!" He called, giving his blue-haired classmate a smile.

Satoshi nodded, "The same to you, Niwa." He returned the smile with a smirk of his own. "How was your weekend?" He asked. He wondered if Daisuke was sharp enough to catch on to him and his scheme; he wasn't trying to conceal it very well. Then again, the red-head always did seem a bit spacey...

"Oh, it was okay," Daisuke laughed nervously at the memory of yesterday, taking a seat at his desk.

He really is easy to read, Satoshi thought to himself. It was really kind of cute. Satoshi turned away from Daisuke, opening his notebook and writing down his observations. Across the room, Daisuke had struck up a new conversation with Takeshi. Satoshi listened closely, occasionally throwing glances Daisuke's way, writing down anything that he found interesting. When the bell signaling the start of class rung, he had compiled almost a complete file on Niwa Daisuke, from his height down to his speaking habits.

And Krad had said he was obsessed...

-

Dark tapped his foot against the ground in an annoyed manner. When he got bored with that, he switched to drumming on the desk with his fingertips. He was in the middle of a particularly nice melody when the teacher stopped rustling around with the papers on her desk and straightened up, clearing her throat.

"Class," she addressed in a clear voice. "I have an announcement to make."

"Fantastic," Dark growled lowly to himself.

"We have a new student transferring to our class!" The teacher smiled, opening the door. "I hope everyone will make him feel welcome!" Dark almost gagged at her fake cheeriness.

For a moment, the purple haired teen thought that she had gotten mixed up again, because he'd never seen a guy with hair that long. But no, after a minute he realized that this student was definitely male. Too bad.

"Please introduce yourself," The teacher instructed.

"I'm Hikari Krad," The new student said shortly, looking bored. Dark knew how that felt.

"Well, Mr. Hikari," the teacher surveyed the classroom. "Why don't you take that seat next to Mr. Mousy?"

Dark's head shot up. Damn, why did he get stuck with the new student? He swore that this teacher had it out for him. Must've been revenge for sleeping in class last week. Of course, that wasn't his fault. If the lecture had been more interesting, he was sure he could have stayed awake for at least half of it. Well, maybe a quarter.

"Mr. Mousy, stand up!" The teacher ordered. Dark grudgingly obeyed. "He'll be showing you around the school, Mr. Hikari."

Krad's golden eyes scanned the room until they landed on Dark. He smirked, "My pleasure, I'm sure." He said, walking up to Dark. A few of the more excitable girls in the class swooned, giggling hysterically. Dark scowled, narrowing his eyes. This guy had some nerve.

They both took their seats and the teacher went on with her duties, telling them to open their books to page so and so. Dark couldn't be bothered to pay much attention. Even if he wasn't being stared at by the creepy new transfer student, he wouldn't have listened.

Finally getting fed up, he sent a fiery glare Krad's way, "Do you need something?" He asked in a low whisper. Well, it was more like a hiss really, but that was beside the point.

"Nothing," Krad replied airily. "I would like to talk to you after class, though. There are things I'd like to discuss with the competition."

"Competition?" Dark replied, furrowing his eyebrows. "For _what_?" He hadn't stolen this guy's girlfriend or something, had he?

"For the position of master of The Fallen, of course." Krad replied in a tone that said the discussion was most definitely over and done. He turned his attention back to the blackboard and teacher and did not look back at Dark again.

Dark spent the rest of the class in shock. The only thought running through his head was that someone was out to get him. Oh, and that if Risa knew that other people knew about the cards, he was going to strangle her, regardless of her cuteness.

-

"So, how the hell do you know about The Fallen?" Dark asked Krad, after being dragged up to the rooftop by the blond. He was annoyed, confused, angry, confused, pissed off, but most of all, confused.

Krad rolled his eyes, "Haven't you figured it out yet? I told you who I was."

"Yeah," Dark snapped. "Your name is Krad and you know about The Fallen. There's a whole lot of information there," He said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"A little bit slow, aren't we?" Krad snapped back, "I told you, I'm the other candidate for the position of master of The Fallen book and cards." He explained slowly and carefully, as if he were speaking to a very small and not too bright child. Which was what Krad currently thought Dark was.

"But _I'm _The Fallen candidate!" Dark replied, placing his hands on his hips. He had opened that stupid book and he was going to catch all those damned cards. Him, not this jerk.

"Yes," Krad told him through gritted teeth. "And I'm your competition for the position of master of The Fallen. I'm the _other _candidate!" He hissed. This was just too frustrating. It couldn't be good for his stress levels, which were probably all ready unhealthily high.

"You're trying to capture the cards too?" Dark asked, scowling.

Krad nodded, "Very good!" He clapped his hands together in a patronizing way. "You get a gold star."

"Oh, shut up!" Dark exclaimed. This guy was really, really getting on his nerves. He wondered if he could knock him out; he figured he probably could.

Reaching over and closing his hand around Dark's wrist, Krad yanked the other teen towards him. As Dark fell against him, Krad somehow managed to fish The Black Wings out of the other's pocket.

When Dark had regained his footing, he pushed Krad back, stumbling away, "What the _hell_ was that!" He spat, anger rising to dangerous levels. Angry Dark was not a fun thing to be around.

Krad was looking over The Fallen card he had snatched. "You didn't seal it right," He commented airily. He flashed the card in front of Dark and the other teen barely recognized it. Instead of the purple and black hues that had tinted the card before, the card was now colored white and gold. The black wings on the front of the card had changed to white ones and the title had changed to fit the picture. The words "The White Wings" now adorned the front of the card.

"What did you do?" Dark gasped, staring at the card in disbelief.

Krad leaned against the roof's railing, "Nothing. The cards change to suit their captors. If you had sealed it right, it wouldn't have reacted to my touch." He flung the card back at Dark.

Dark snatched it out of the air angrily, watching as the white and gold colors melted back into black and purple, the wings becoming black again. In the moment after it had touched Dark's fingertips, the card had changed back into The Black Wings card Dark had caught just yesterday.

"What do you mean, I didn't seal it right?" Dark asked, scowling up at Krad. "The guardian of The Keeper showed me how to seal it! She should know, shouldn't she?" This guy had some nerve, thinking he knew more then the guardian of the cards themselves. How could he know more then Risa? She was in charge of the cards!

"I meant what I said," Krad drawled, gazing at Dark through half-lidded golden eyes. "You didn't seal it right. Maybe the guardian forgot after spending so much time sealed in the book," He shrugged.

Dark seethed; he was going to strangle Risa later, really he was. Right after he killed this guy, of course.

Krad glanced at him, "Do you want me to show you how to seal it correctly?" He asked.

"Not really," Dark growled.

"Come now," Krad smirked. "I'm trying to be nice. If you don't seal it right, it'll be easier for me to snatch it from you and seal it myself. I'm offering you a head start."

Dark was tempted to say that he didn't need one, but he really didn't like the idea of losing The Black Wings. Especially not to this jerk. "...Fine!" He shouted. "What do I do?"

Krad's smirk widened, "Give me your hand." He ordered, outstretching his own, palm up.

Hesitantly, as if sensing foul play, Dark laid his hand in Krad's. Krad flipped Dark's hand palm up, drawing a small dagger out of his pocket and slashing it across Dark's palm in a vertical cut that extended from the base of the violet haired boy's fingers to his wrist.

Dark yelped, "What the hell are you trying to do?" He tried to pull his hand out of Krad's grip, but the blond held on tightly, long fingers curling around his wrist.

Krad didn't answer. Switching Dark's bleeding hand into the hand holding the dagger, he used his now free hand to snatch The Black Wings out of Dark's other hand. The blond pressed Dark's palm against the card so the blood dripped onto the surface of the card. Dark winced in pain, closing one burgundy colored eye.

Krad released Dark's hand and showed him the card. Even though it was in Krad's hand, the colors stayed the same. "See? Now it recognizes only you as its master." He thrust the card back into Dark's hand, raising the dagger and licking the blood off of the blade, "For now, anyway." He walked off towards the stairway without a second glance at Dark.

Clutching his bleeding hand, Dark growled low in his throat, "Screw you, sadist!" He shouted after Krad, "Ooh, I'm going to kill him!"

-

On his way back to school, Dark explained all that had happened to Daisuke.

The red-head bit his lip, "I don't know, Dark... I'm sure this new classmate of yours isn't as, well..."

"Evil!" Dark put in quickly, scowling.

"I'm sure he isn't as, erm, evil..." Daisuke sent his cousin an odd look, "as you make him sound."

Dark thrust his hand, now tied up with a handkerchief, into Daisuke's face, "He frickin' sliced my palm open with a knife!"

Daisuke shoved Dark's hand away, making a face, "Yes, but he also showed you how to seal the cards correctly. I think he may have been trying to be nice. Maybe he's just not good with people?"

"Sadistic bastards don't tend to be..." Dark growled.

Daisuke sighed, "Why don't you try and be his friend, Dark? I'm sure he's lonely. After all, he just transferred to our school..."

"To TORTURE me!" Dark yelled.

Daisuke shook his head, deciding to change the subject quickly. "Since there's another candidate for The Fallen, do you figure that I'm going to have competition for The Keeper?" He asked, tilting his head to one side.

Dark shrugged. "Maybe you'll get lucky and get a pretty girl for competition. Instead of me, getting stuck with the sadist..."

"Aw, cheer up, Dark!" Daisuke smiled at his cousin, "At least The Black Wings is sealed correctly now." He stopped in front of his house, fishing the key out of his pocket.

"Yeah, yeah..." Dark mumbled as Daisuke unlocked the door. All he wanted to do was lie down for a very long while.

"Hey, mom, we're home!" Daisuke called as they walked inside.

"Risa!" Dark shouted, "I've got something to speak," _Yell, _he mentally corrected, "to you about!"

Daisuke paused, "That's funny... the lights are all out. Maybe mom and grandpa went out with Risa? But the car is in the driveway... Maybe they went for a walk? Do you think they did, Dark?" He glanced over at his cousin.

"Whatever," Dark sighed, closing his eyes and taking a step forward...

... Only to fall through a gaping hole in the floor.

Dark managed to grab the edge of the floor on his way down, "Daisuke! Help!"

Daisuke nodded, wide-eyed, kneeling down and pulling his cousin back to safety. Looking ahead, he saw that the floor from where he stood to clear across the room was no longer there; only a gaping hole in its place. "...What happened?" He asked, gripping Dark's shoulder tightly. "Why is there a huge hole in the floor?"

"I don't know," Dark said, grabbing onto Daisuke's arm to make sure the red-head didn't slip and fall.

Daisuke looked up, something across the room catching his eye. "That's a blackboard over there, isn't there?" Ruby eyes squinted as Daisuke tried to make out what was written on the board across the room. After a moment, he sighed, "It's no good. I can't read it."

"There's not even a ledge or anything!" Dark exclaimed, "How are we supposed to get across?"

"... We're supposed to use the cards." Daisuke announced after a moment's contemplation. Fishing his house key out of his pocket, Daisuke turned to Dark and asked, "You just have to drip some of your blood on it, right?" He wanted to have the card sealed properly before he used it, just in case.

"Huh? Oh, yeah... Dai, what're you doing?"

Daisuke struck the sharp edge of the key hard against his hand, wincing as it broke the skin. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out Fairy's Flight, he pressed the card against the small wound.

"Ouch," Dark muttered, remembering his own experience from earlier.

"It's not so bad," Daisuke smiled warmly as he concentrated on the card. In a moment, it had dissolved into thin air, the only remainder of it being the almost transparent silvery wings that hung by Daisuke's shoes (1).

Dark copied his cousin and before long, the large feathered wings adorned his back again. Pushing himself off the ground, he shakily flew over to the other side. When his feet touched down, he let out a long sigh. He really needed to work on this flying stuff. Especially steering. Turning around, he called to the red-head, "C'mon, Daisuke! I won't go on without you, I swear!"

Daisuke nodded slowly, shutting his eyes tightly and stepping off the edge. To his delight, he found that he was not falling, but rather, floating in mid-air above the gaping hole. He was walking on air, literarily. Taking a deep breath, Daisuke ran for the other side, collapsing to his knees when he got across.

"That was scary!" He exclaimed, breathing heavily.

Dark nodded, extending a hand. Daisuke gratefully took it and they walked to the far side of the room, until they stood before the blackboard.

"_Congratulations, Daisuke! You too, Dark!_" Daisuke read aloud. "_If you're reading this, you've obviously made it across! Great work, you two! Now keep it up, there's just a tiny bit more before you're home free! Love, mom and Risa._" There was a little heart symbol next to the signature.

"They're trying to kill us!" Dark exclaimed. Seriously, how much danger was he going to be put in today? First the sadistic new kid who knew about the cards, now his aunt tried to kill him in some insane training exercise. This was obviously not his day.

Daisuke couldn't help but nod. He couldn't believe his mother would do this. He supposed she was only doing it for their own good, but honestly! What if he or Dark had fallen? They could have gotten hurt. "Oh, mom..." Daisuke sighed. "You've been watching too many shows with ninjas and spies again, haven't you?" He wailed aloud.

"Hey, there's a door behind here," Dark interrupted his cousin, pushing the blackboard aside. Indeed, there was a door behind it.

Daisuke raised an eyebrow, "...Didn't this used to be our hall closet?" He asked, casting a quizzical look at Dark.

Dark nodded, "Used to."

Taking a careful step and feeling the floor beneath him with his foot, Daisuke entered the former-closet. "I wonder how mom did all this... "Construction companies probably charged a good amount of money for this kind of work, and his mother had done it in an afternoon. Maybe there was magic afoot? Risa's name had been on the blackboard. He supposed she must have helped.

"Dai, watch out!" Dark grabbed the back of his cousin's shirt, tugging him backwards.

Choking as the cloth cut into his neck, Daisuke yelped, "Dark! What are you doing?"

Dark pointed ahead at what Daisuke was about to walk into. "It's pretty dark in there, but if you squint, you can see...Look at all those lasers."

"Lasers?" Daisuke shrieked, peering ahead. Dark red lasers crisscrossed in the narrow passageway. The highest one was about as tall as Dark. There was no way that either of them could jump over by themselves and the slits between the lasers were much too thin for them to slip through. Even a limbo champion couldn't manage it.

Spreading the wings that he had wisely decided not to return to card form, Dark flew up above the lasers, landing on the other side of them. Luckily, the ceiling seemed quite a bit higher then it had been when it still their hall closet. "Daisuke, come on!" He called, motioning for his younger cousin.

Daisuke shook his head, "I'm not sure if I can, Dark. I just stepped off the edge the last time. I'm not sure if the card will let me fly vertically."

Dark frowned, "Don't be an idiot, Dai! The box could fly vertically, so obviously you can too! Try and jump!" He commanded, placing his hands on his hips.

The red-head nodded hesitantly. Jumping up, he found himself hovering with his feet just and inch above the lasers. With one hand on the wall to steady himself, Daisuke slowly made it across and landed next to Dark.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it," He grinned shakily once his feet were back on the ground.

Dark gave him the thumbs up. "Good job, kiddo."

From there on, they crossed a stretch of floor covered in nails, ran from various robotic toys and finally made it to a door with a neon sign above it that said 'Welcome home'. Daisuke tried the knob; it was locked.

Dark rolled his eyes, "She thinks a locked door is going to stop us? This is the easiest yet!" He pulled his trusty hairpin out of his pocket and picked the lock. The door swung open, and Dark was immediately tackled by Emiko.

"Great job!" She squealed, letting go of her nephew and moving on to her son. "Oh, Daisuke, I'm so proud of you! Using the Fairy's Flight card for the first time!"

"Erm, thanks, mom..." Daisuke tried very hard to smile. It was a little hard, seeing as his loving mother had just compiled a very dangerous obstacle course for him and his cousin to get across. Still, she seemed happy, and he doubted that she would have put anything dangerous enough to actually kill them in the obstacle course. Well, the hole in the floor might, depending on how deep it actually was, and then there were the nails...

Risa clapped her hands from where she stood, slightly behind Emiko. "You two used the cards so well!"

"...You saw?" Dark raised an eyebrow.

"Surveillance cameras!" Emiko waved a hand airily, as every house had cameras planted in their hallway turned insane obstacle course.

Dark shook his head, he wasn't even going to try and process this information. Turning to Risa, he scowled, "I have to talk to you."

"Not now," She frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "You two have to go get changed and then we have to go! Another card has been spotted!"

Both boys groaned. Honestly, weren't they ever going to get a break? Two days of card capturing and they were already exhausted.

-

As dusk fell, the two teens and the guardian walked along a deserted alleyway, making sure that they would not be seen. Dark explained what had happened with Krad and The Black Wings, while Daisuke made sure that Dark's story did not get out of hand, assuring Risa that Krad was probably not Satan himself. Risa had seemed apologetic when she told both of the boys that she had honestly forgotten about the blood sealing method after all that time spent in the book and that she was very sorry. Dark grumbled to himself about conspiracies and Daisuke laughed nervously, ready to play the part of the peacekeeper.

"You know, you never did tell us what card we're supposed to be looking for..." Daisuke looked over at Risa, who immediately tried to look innocent.

"I didn't?" She blinked sweetly. "Oh, well...it's the Explosion card..." She said the last part very, very quietly.

"There's an Explosion card!" Dark shouted. Oh, this was not good. And he'd thought that the attack of the living cardboard box had been bad...

Risa nodded meekly, "Now you see why I didn't tell you." She tried to keep her smile in place, but it was rather hard when you had two incredulous card captors glaring at you. Well, this certainly was going to be an evening to remember. If the captors didn't skin her alive, of course. Or if she didn't get blown up by a card.

"Please tell me that the Explosion card isn't what it sounds like..." Daisuke asked, looking at her desperately.

Risa grinned nervously, knitting her fingers together. "Well, yeah, it is what it sounds like..." She mumbled quietly, shrinking back a tiny bit.

"Has it caused any damage?" Daisuke asked, his voice and eyes tinted with worry. Dark rolled his eyes. Classic Daisuke, he thought, thinking about others before thinking about the fact that they were being sent to capture a card that could _blow things up_.

Risa shook her head, "Not really... It was on the news shortly after you left. A pile of cars blew up unexplainably in an abandoned lot. There were some people there for a while... But they left a while ago, according to your grandfather..."

"Do you think it's still in the lot?" Daisuke asked, noting that the part of town they were headed to was definitely not the nice part. There were quite a few of abandoned lots around this area. Not to mention thugs... Apparently, Dark was thinking the same thing as he looked around suspiciously, staying close to Daisuke and Risa as if to guard them.

Risa nodded. "I know where it is... Ms. Emiko gave me directions..." She said, turning a corner sharply, making the two boys hurriedly scurry after her.

She stopped as abruptly as she had turned, coming to a halt in front of a lot surrounded by a chain link fence with a crookedly hung sign that said 'No Trespassers' in faded letters. Dark rolled his eyes, rolling up the sleeves of his black shirt. Cursing the boots Emiko had demanded he wear, Dark began to scale the fence. When he reached the top, he jumped, landing gracefully on his feet. He opened the fence from the inside, the doors swinging wide open. Dark stepped back to allow Daisuke and Risa entry.

"So, it's somewhere here?" Dark asked, eyeing the police tape that had covered part of the fence. That had made part of the climbing a bit slippery, of course, but it hadn't been all that hard. After all, Dark had experience in these manners. Experience that Daisuke would be pretty damn mad about if his younger cousin ever found out.

Risa nodded, looking around warily. She really wanted to make it out of here alive. She might have been a mythical being, and therefore not human, but she could still feel pain, which meant she didn't want to unexpectedly run into Explosion.

"Is Explosion going to need a host like Fairy's Flight?" Daisuke asked in a voice barely above a whisper, as if the card could hear them.

Risa shook her head, "I don't think so." She murmured just as quietly, "Explosion doesn't need a host, though it might take one anyway..." Moments after the words had left her lips, a loud bang echoed across the yard,

Daisuke yelped, spinning around. There, where an old car had been moments ago now was a smoldering pile of scrap metal.

Dark winced, "Yeesh..." He muttered. He really hoped they managed to make it through this alive.

Daisuke's ruby eyes were wide, "If it doesn't require a host, then we won't be able to see it, will we?" He asked shakily as he took a step backward, away from the smoking pile of rubble.

"How the hell are we supposed to capture something we can't see?" Dark demanded, spinning around to look at Risa.

She shook her head again, "I... I don't know..." Oooh, she did not want to end up like that poor Saturn (2), no, she did not.

"I suppose it's good there are other captors besides the two of you, then. Others with more experience in the matter." A voice with cool undertones said from somewhere up above. Three heads swiveled to look up at a pile of scrapped cars, on top of which stood two very familiar figures.

"Hiwatari!" Daisuke exclaimed, eyes going wide, "Hiwatari, you aren't... the other captor... are you?" He asked, suddenly tinged with a hint of fear. He'd never been all that close to Hiwatari Satoshi in the first place, but still... Would this tear what little bond they had apart?

Satoshi looked away; why had it suddenly become so hard to meet those ruby red eyes?

Krad snorted, "I'll make this easy for the both of you," He said, waving a hand at the younger boy next to him. "Satoshi here would be the other Keeper candidate."

Dark growled low in his throat, "We don't need you here! We can handle this all on our own!" He snapped, pointing an accusing finger in Krad's direction, "So clear off!"

Krad ignored Dark's words, tilting his head to the left as if thinking about something. Signaling to Satoshi with a nod, they both jumped down, landing smoothly on the ground. Moments after their feet had touched the ground, the pile of cars they had been standing burst into flames with a loud 'boom'. Krad jumped back with impressive skill as flaming metal fell on the spot he had been standing on moments ago.

Dark found himself entertaining the idea of Krad being smushed into a pancake by a flaming car door, but right in the middle of the part where Krad actually got smushed, he felt someone grab his arms and pull him backwards. Looking on either side of him, he saw Risa and Daisuke. "... What do you think you're doing?" He asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Risa said she thinks Explosion is going to hit where you were standing!" Daisuke said, clinging to Dark's arm tighter. He did not want a dead cousin.

Risa nodded, "You have to be more careful. I think it's going to try and strike the captors and eliminate them."

"Sounds real ni-" Dark's sentence was interrupted by another 'kaboom', as the ground he had been standing on moments before burst into flames.

"... The card is trying to kill us." The purple haired teen stated in a disbelieving tone. "First that bastard," A pointed glare at Krad, who raised one eyebrow, "then Emiko, and now the card. It's officially 'let's kill Dark' day."

"It's lovely to hear you complain," Krad cleared his throat. "But you're distracting me from my job."

Dark growled lowly. What he wouldn't give to rip this guy's throat out... Ah, revenge would be sweet. Shaking his head, he decided to concentrate on catching the damned card now and killing Krad later. Producing The Black Wings from the folds of his coat, he released it and stretched the feathered wings that materialized behind him. If he took to the sky, he shouldn't have any problems with Explosion. With a flap of his wings, Dark took flight, hovering above the junk yard.

Blue eyes narrowed as Satoshi studied Dark's winged figure. Something was different from last night. It only took him a moment to figure out what. "... You showed him how to seal it properly," Satoshi stated, staring wearily at Krad. "Whatever for?"

"I didn't want this game to be boring," Krad smirked, eyes scanning his surroundings as if trying to track down Explosion. He drew a slip of paper out of the pocket of his trench coat, fingertips tracing the blue ink on it lightly. "It wouldn't nearly as fun if I knew all the rules and the other player didn't." Golden eyes narrowed, cat-like, as Krad studied something in the distance. "Strange. It's going to aim for Keeper's candidate."

The calm, cold expression Satoshi's eyes held flickered, "You mean... Niwa?"

"Is that a problem, Sato?"

Satoshi glared from behind his glasses, "It's none of your business, Krad!" He snapped, turning his back to the blond.

Krad shrugged nonchalantly, "All right, if you say so." He didn't really have the time to care about whatever inner conflict was bothering Satoshi. If he wanted to help the other Keeper candidate, then he'd have to act fast. Krad was busy trying to capture the card. Focusing on Daisuke, his grip on the slip of paper he held. As soon as Explosion struck, so would he.

"Be on your guard, Daisuke," Risa murmured. "Explosion could strike anywhere."

"Can't you sense it?" He asked, remembering that moments ago she had informed him it planned to attack Dark.

She paused, then shook her head, "It seems to be trying to hide it presence. I can still feel it, but I can't tell where it is." She bit her lip, "Dark had the right idea with the Black Wings. Can you use Fairy's Flight?"

Daisuke nodded, drawing the card out of his pocket. "I guess that would be the best choice of action..." He said, beginning to concentrate on the card. "I hope Hiwatari'll be all right." He glanced over at the blue haired boy to find Satoshi staring back at him.

"...Hiwatari?" Daisuke called, confused at the worried look on the other's face, "Is something wrong?" He stopped concentrating on Fairy's Flight, lowering the card.

"Daisuke," Risa hissed, tugging on his sleeve. "What are you doing? Summon Fairy's Flight!"

"I agree with the guardian," Satoshi spoke suddenly, apparently having overheard Risa. "Niwa, you should get yourself to safety."

"Oh," Daisuke faltered slightly, raising the card again. "The same for you, Hiwatari," He smiled at the other boy as the card began to glow, and then fade away. A strange, but not uncomfortable feeling coursed through his veins as the card began to disappear altogether, and that's when Explosion struck.

It was Risa who screamed first, the force of the blast knocking her over and sending her to the ground. Raising herself up on her knees, her horrified gaze fell on the billowing smoke that issued from the spot Daisuke had stood on moments before. "Daisuke?" She said quietly as she got shakily to her feet. The smoke had yet to clear. "Daisuke!" She repeated, hands clenching as her eyes widened.

The sound of feathers filled the air as Dark landed, running over and trying to bat away the smoke, shouting his cousin's name. Satoshi stood still as stone, staring blankly at where the red head had been. Krad's golden eyes were observing the ground where the smoke still issued from. There were still flames. Explosion had yet to leave.

Concentrating on the slip of paper between the fingers much like how one would concentrate on the card, Krad mumbled something under his breath. Card capturing was so much easier with elemental talismans. A cyclone of water swarmed around smoke and the flames, enveloping it.

Dark took a step back as the water cut him off from the smoke, and more importantly, Daisuke. Turning to Krad with blazing eyes, Dark shouted, "What did you do? What are you doing?"

"Simple," Krad replied with a light smirk. "I'm capturing this card."

"Great, so if Daisuke isn't all ready dead from being burned to crisp, you're going to drown him!"

"The other Keeper candidate is no concern of mine," Krad replied calmly.

The water cyclone began to slow down, and then gave out all together, falling to the ground with a crash and soaking everyone up to their ankles. Kneeling down, Krad scooped something out of the water that was quickly soaking into the ground. Holding up a white and gold card, he smirked, "Well, it looks like I've captured Explosion." He pulled a pen out of pocket, quickly signing the back of the card. Taking the same dagger he had used on Dark earlier that day, he drew a thin line down his palm and let the blood drip onto the card. He turned on his heel, preparing to walk away, "Come, Satoshi. Our work is done for today."

Satoshi stayed where he was, eyes still fixed on the spot where Daisuke had stood, "Niwa..." He murmured. Risa was gazing in the same direction as Satoshi, looking slightly teary, but not very sad.

Dark turned back to where he had last seen his cousin and gave a yelp of some sort. Krad turned around as well, looking none too amused by all this. This had better be good.

Daisuke stood, his ruby red eyes somewhat wide with shock, but a smile on his face. There were no burn marks anywhere on him, even though tendrils of smoke still issued from the scorched ground below his feet.

After a moment, he blinked, "Why's everyone looking at me like that?" He asked, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head.

"We thought you were dead, or horribly burned, or something!" Dark shouted, pointing an accusing finger at a now thoroughly puzzled Daisuke. "How dare you worry me like that!" Risa nodded in agreement with Dark, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The expression on her face was a mix of annoyance and relief.

"Niwa, Explosion hit you," Satoshi said, sounding puzzled. He felt strangely relieved, and half of him wondered why.

Daisuke blinked, then smiled again, "Oh, I know." He said simply, examining his black gloves before stripping them off and tucking them into his pocket. They had smelled too much like smoke for his liking.

"What do you mean, you know!" Dark demanded, looking ready to strangle something.

"Well, it's pretty hard not to notice that you've been enveloped in smoke and flame," Daisuke said flatly, giving his cousin a 'what are you, an idiot?' look. Dark glared back, placing his hands on his hips.

"Daisuke," Risa spoke up suddenly, examining the air around the redhead. On closer inspection, it was slightly hazy, and one could almost make out the outline of something that vaguely resembled a gigantic wing. "Is that Shield?" She smiled vaguely as the hazy shape became more visible, though all but the pearly white edges and the ruby colored gem on the left side was mostly clear and see through.

"Oh, is that what this card is?" The redhead placed a hand on it, "... If it is a card, that is." He added as an afterthought.

For the first time in a few moments, Krad spoke up, "Shield is indeed a card, belonging to the Keeper deck."

Risa laughed, running her hand around Shield's edge, "Explosion has such a strong presence, I didn't even notice Shield!" She patted the card with a warm look in her brown eyes.

"I guess that means that Hiwatari and I should try to capture it, then?" Daisuke looked at Satoshi with questioning eyes. He honestly had hoped that he wouldn't have to fight the blue haired boy, but he guessed that if Satoshi was indeed the other Keeper candidate, then it was his duty. He couldn't just back away from it.

He was surprised to see a small smile on Satoshi's face, "It looks like you've all ready captured it, Niwa." With a wave, he turned and walked towards Krad who didn't bother to even give them a glance of acknowledgement before he started to walk off.

"Huh? What did he mean?" Daisuke turned his attention back to Shield just in time to see it transform back into a card, floating down to land by his feet. "But... I didn't even do anything to it..." He picked up the card, looking slightly puzzled.

"I guess it just wanted to come to you," Risa smiled, leaning over Daisuke's shoulder to look at the card. "Kind of convenient, isn't it?"

"That bastard got Explosion," Dark mumbled under his breath. Upon being glared at by Risa and Daisuke, he added, "Oh, and good for you, Dai, not letting the card go to that creepy kid." He shuddered slightly and Daisuke raised an eyebrow. He didn't think Satoshi was creepy... well, not very creepy, at least. Still, it wasn't very nice of his cousin to say that.

Turning back to the card, Daisuke looked fondly at it before taking a pen out of his pocket and quickly signing his name. He would seal it properly with blood when he got home. Making a move to put the card in his pocket, he yelped, bringing his hand back up to eye level.

"What happened?" Dark asked, idly walking towards the fence of the junkyard. They should get out of there, just in case anyone heard the noise caused by Explosion and called the cops.

"I cut my finger on the card..." Daisuke frowned; the edges hadn't looked that sharp. A drop of blood dripped down on the card and Daisuke was even more puzzled. Since when did paper cuts bleed like that? "Did Shield make me cut myself, so I could seal it properly?" He asked Risa.

She shrugged in reply, "Maybe. Shield's a bit of an odd ball." She winked, heading after Dark as he started to walk out of the junk yard.

"C'mon, Dai," Dark whined slightly, kicking the chain link fence open. "It's getting late," He gestured to the inky navy-black sky dotted with stars above them, "and I'm hungry." He grinned playfully.

Daisuke suppressed a laugh, following after his cousin and Risa. All the while, he fingered both Shield and Fairy's Flight in his pocket. Maybe, just maybe, this entire card capturing business would help him get closer to Hiwatari Satoshi. After all, today had been the first day he'd ever seen the blue haired genius smile. The closest he'd ever come before was the smirk Satoshi had given him that morning. That morning... it seemed like it had been a lot longer then just that. He smiled to himself as they started walking down a dark alley, Dark whining about being hungry, and something else about 'evil card-stealing blonds'. He wished that what little bond he and Satoshi shared would be strengthened by the cards.

He looked up just in time to see a shooting star streak across the sky and his smile widened. He had just inadvertently wished upon a falling star.

-

Card Two- Captured

-

1. Blatant mythology reference. Hermes, the Greek messenger god, wears winged sandals. It's a cool image, so I couldn't resist. X3

2. Do they have Saturns in Japan? o.o I have no idea what sort of cars they have there. I just picked the first name that came to mind. My aunt has a Saturn, I think...

-

This is the chapter that WOULD NOT END. oo Seriously. It's the longest chapter I've ever written. Yaaay? Anyway, I hope you readers enjoyed it (I aim to please). And once again, I'm sorry for the wait. My goal is update much faster. Hopefully, I'll be able to live up to that goal, right?

Reviews are much appreciated!


	3. Card III Crystal

Author's Note: Third chapter of Angel Cards is up at last! ; I'm sorry about the wait. I seem to jinx myself every time I promise faster updates. But really, I am trying to be better at updating on time. Right now, my biggest worry with this fic is that the chapters are sounding a little repetitive. I'm not the best at action scenes, so... yeah. And until I get more cards on the scene, the action scenes are going to seem a little rough. Sorry about that. Still! More cards shall come soon! With more twists and turns and everything else I have plotted out! And I shall laugh maniacally! AHEM- anyway, I want to thank everyone for their lovely reviews. They make my day!

Disclaimer: Amethyst Bubble does not own DN Angel.

* * *

The Angel Cards

Chapter Three- Card Three

By Amethyst Bubble

* * *

"You know, there weren't always two sets of cards."

She was standing in the shadows of a tall building. Daisuke could only see her outline. At least... he assumed the speaker was female. The voice didn't sound like that of a male, but really, could one ever completely tell from just a voice alone?

"Originally, there was only one set. 'Unity', it was called, if I remember correctly. It was a long time ago."

'Is she speaking to me?' Daisuke hazily wondered, squinting his eyes to try and see the figure better. 'If she is, why doesn't she come closer?'

"But then," The speaker paused. "... I'm sorry, I can't quite remember..."

'Remember what?' Daisuke wanted to ask, but he didn't seem able to move his lips. How strange. What was going on? Was this the effect of another card? Could the cards do things like this? And who was that girl?

"The cards had to be split into two sets. The Keeper and The Fallen."

So she was talking about the cards after all. Daisuke blinked. They hadn't always been two separate decks?

"There weren't so many candidates back then either. There have never been as many candidates as there are now. Four seems to be a rather large number, doesn't it? But after what happened last time, I suppose it's for the best. The more candidates there are, the more chance there is that at least one will survive to be the master of the cards." She sighed, "They were weak last time. That's why it happened. They weren't prepared. Do you think things will be different this time around?"

'Is she asking me?' Daisuke wondered. 'Should I answer her?'

He thought he saw her shake her head, "It'll be your own fault if you get killed." She said forcefully. Then she stepped out of the shadows.

* * *

"KYUU!"

Daisuke Niwa awoke to find his face full of fur. "With," He whined, plucking the white animal off of his head. "Do you really have to wake me up like this?" Huge red eyes stared back at him, unblinking. With a sigh, Daisuke placed With down on the covers. "Don't give me that look," He mumbled half-heartedly. He climbed out of bed with a bit of difficulty, seeing as he'd somehow managed to get his limbs tangled in the sheets during his dream.

After changing, Daisuke descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen, where Risa sat at the table, chewing a mouthful of her usual bread and jam.

"Where's Dark?" He asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Risa swallowed and then shrugged, "I think he's still asleep."

Daisuke nodded blankly, "That makes sense. After all, we don't have school today, so he probably just wants to sleep in."

"Is he still upset about losing that card to the other captor?" Risa blinked, "But you were fine with... oh, what's his name?... Hiwatari, isn't it? You were fine with Hiwatari capturing Lock."

"Well, it's only fair," Daisuke raked a hand through his red hair, making it stick up even more then it usually did. "After all, I got the last two Keeper cards, didn't I?"

The two were discussing an event that had happened several days ago. A new set of cards, Chains and Lock, had appeared and caused a small amount of chaos. In the end, Krad had captured Chains and Satoshi had managed to seal Lock away. Dark was quite bitter about losing two cards in a row to the blond, but Daisuke didn't seem to mind that Satoshi had captured this one instead of him, which caused Dark to claim that his younger cousin was nuts.

"And mom? Where is she?" Daisuke asked.

"Costumes," Risa said flatly, taking another bite of her breakfast.

"Ah," Daisuke decided that he'd better start making his own breakfast then. Odds were his mother wasn't going to be down for a while. Settling for just toast with jam like Risa had, Daisuke pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. "Does that mean another card's on the loose?"

Risa blinked, pausing with toast midway to mouth, "You mean you can't sense it yet? That sort of electricity in the air?" Daisuke shook his head and she frowned, "I would've thought that you'd be able to recognize it by now. Guess not. Ah, well, never mind then. You'll catch on soon enough." She took another bite of her toast and her frown melted into a smile, "Ah, jam, my old friend... I've missed you so..." She hummed softly, though whether to herself or her breakfast, Daisuke couldn't tell.

The red-head was torn between looking at Risa like she was crazy and laughing when Dark stumbled into the room, looking quite disheveled.

Flopping down at the table in a heap, Dark mumbled, "Morning," before stealing Daisuke's orange juice.

"You look like you got run over by an elephant." Risa said, staring at Dark.

Peering over the rim of the glass, Dark gave Risa a smile that may or may not have been sarcastic in nature. "You're as charming and lovely as ever," He mumbled, making a move to gulp down the rest of Daisuke's juice, but the red-head snatched his glass back just in time.

"Thank you," Risa smiled brightly as Daisuke moved the rest of his breakfast out of his cousin's reach. Dark mumbled something inaudable, resting his head in his arms. "Why are you so out of it this morning, anyhow?" She asked, tilting her head to one side.

"It's because he usually gets a couple extra hours of sleep once he gets to school." Daisuke muttered, casting the purple haired teen a dirty look.

Dark raised his head enough to glare at Daisuke, "S'not it." He mumbled, leaning back and pressing a hand to his forehead. "This odd feeling kept me up until a couple hours ago... Dai, do we have coffee?"

"Oh!" Risa squealed, leaning forward, "That's the feeling! Dark, what you sensed was an approaching card!" She smiled brightly.

Daisuke got up to brew Dark's coffee, a little put out that his elder cousin had picked up on something before him.

"Oh, great, another damn card..." Dark hissed, cracking one wine colored eye open. "Anyway, I only went to sleep a couple hours ago and I had this odd dream... Can't remember what it was about, though." He frowned, "Kinda seemed important."

Daisuke paused. Hey, hadn't he been dreaming before With woke him up? Now that he thought about, he couldn't remember what he had dreamed about either. That was strange; he usually remembered his dreams.

"Well, anyway," Risa said as Daisuke returned to the table, setting a cup of instant coffee before Dark. "As soon as twilight hits, we'll be setting out to search for the card."

"Twilight?" Dark wrapped his hands around his coffee, "How do we know that those two bastards won't have gotten to it before us?"

"Dark," Daisuke frowned. "No language at the breakfast table," He teased lightly.

"Yes, mother..." Dark stuck his tongue out at Daisuke.

"AHEM," Risa cleared her throat loudly, trying to regain attention. "While we cannot assume that the other captors won't try and take the cards in broad daylight, my opinion is that they won't be stupid enough to do so. They're obviously smart and well-trained, so they'll probably wait for night fall as well. They don't want ordinary people to get wise to the cards."

"Makes sense," Daisuke said with a nod. "Hiwatari is pretty smart after all."

"You mean strange," Dark corrected, looking a bit more awake now that he had his coffee.

"Besides," Risa leaned back in her seat. "The card hasn't actually started doing anything yet, so it'd be pretty hard to track it down at this point. I can't even determine if it's from the Fallen or Keeper deck, not to mention what card it is."

* * *

The apartment was small and rather barren. A few pieces of furniture were scattered here and there in a seemingly random order. An ornamental sword hung on the wall, several talismans surrounding it. Satoshi sat in the middle of the living room with his laptop in his lap, typing away.

It was about five o'clock in the evening when Krad strode in, tying back his hair into its usual ponytail. He stopped in front of Satoshi and stared down at the younger boy.

"Fallen or Keeper?" He asked wearily.

Satoshi looked up from his laptop, blinking blue eyes from behind his glasses, "The card? Hmm, probably Fallen." He resumed his typing, "Has it started destroying things yet?"

Krad shrugged, "Don't think so."

There was a pause, neither boy saying anything. Finally, the click-clack of Satoshi's fingers on the keyboard subsided, though he did not look up.

"That girl, the one Niwa brings along on the captures..." He began, looking thoughtful, "Was she the guardian?"

"I assume so," Krad replied, taking a seat on the couch. "Either that, or Niwa's brought his girlfriend along for the ride." He shrugged, the look on his face stating that he couldn't care less.

"...No," Satoshi pushed his glasses up. "Niwa's not the type of person who would endanger a loved one like that. She has to be the guardian."

"You'd better hope so," Krad snorted.

Satoshi glared at the blond, "And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, I suppose," Krad idly picked up the remote and turned on the television. He flipped through channels for several minutes and Satoshi resumed his typing. Finally, something caught Krad's attention and he stopped channel surfing.

"There must be a movie being filmed here in Azumano," The newscaster, a smiling woman with too much makeup cheerily announced. _"Just minutes ago, a strange, crystal-like substance was seen on the corner of..." _She rattled off the directions and explained that the new horror film that was supposed to begin filming in a few weeks must be starting early.

The newscaster, a smiling woman with too much makeup cheerily announced. She rattled off the directions and explained that the new horror film that was supposed to begin filming in a few weeks must be starting early. 

Satoshi sighed, closing his laptop with a snap. "I suppose we should be going then."

Krad switched the TV off, having already memorized the address, "Yes, I suppose we should."

* * *

"Risa and I just saw the new card on the news," Daiki entered the room where Emiko was making the final adjustments on Dark's costume. Daisuke, who was all ready clad in his, sat on a chair nearby. "Luckily everyone seems to think that a movie is just being filmed. You'd better go capture it though, before it attracts too much attention."

"What card is it?" Dark twisted around to face the elderly man, before yelping. "Hey," He whined, glaring down at Emiko. "That hurt!"

"If you hadn't moved, I wouldn't have pricked you with the needle," Emiko muttered around a mouthful of pins.

"Pricked me? I think you just sewed my skin to the fabric!" Dark exclaimed.

"Don't be melodramatic, Dark," Daisuke said, walking over to his grandfather, "But really, what card is it?"

"It's Crystal," Risa waltzed in. "A Fallen card. It could be troublesome if we don't leave soon."

"One second," Emiko mumbled, fumbling with her needle. She made another quick stitch and then tied off the thread, "All done!" She announced with a smile. Dark visibly relaxed.

Several moments later, both captors and the guardian were walking down the darkening street, following a map that Daiki had drawn up.

"We're supposed to take a left here," Daisuke said, pointing down a dark alley.

"Creepy!" Risa announced, taking a step back, "Isn't there another way?"

"Aw, don't worry," Dark said as stepped into the alley. "This one's perfectly safe. It's the ones on the other side of town that you have to watch out for." He said with a sagely nod.

"...Great to know," Daisuke muttered as he followed his cousin, Risa tentatively stepping after him, looking around warily.

When they got to the end of the alley, Dark stopped still in his tracks. He seemed to be gazing ahead. Leaning around him, Daisuke realized why.

The entire square they had just walked into was covered in a light purple, crystalline substance. It had even started creeping up the bases of the lamp posts.

"Looks like ice," Dark murmured, leaning down and touching it lightly. "It's not cold though."

"Dark, don't touch it!" Risa advised, but she was too late. The crystal had all ready covered Dark's hand, trapping him.

"What the hell!" He yelled, trying to pull his hand away, "Aah, I'm stuck!" He tried again, but the crystal wouldn't budge. It was slowly circling its way up his arm, forming a vine-like pattern. Dark yelped, trying once again to escape.

"Dark!" Daisuke shouted, making a move as if to help his cousin, but Risa gripped his arm.

"You can't touch it!" She said, holding on to him tight, "If you do, it'll just get you!"

"You could have told us this before!" Dark yelled, watching the crystal approach his upper arm with wide eyes, "How the hell are we supposed to catch this thing!"

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound, smoke and flames erupting, pieces of the purple crystal flying helter skelter. The smoke and rubble cleared and Dark found himself free. He stumbled back quickly before Crystal could catch him again, collapsing in the alley and panting heavily.

"Hey!" He shouted, glaring across the Crystal covered square to the street on the other side, "You could have taken my arm off!" He pointed an incriminating finger at a figure whose outline was just appearing as the rubble cleared away, settling on the ground.

Krad lowered Explosion, "It was a risk I was willing to take." He said calmly, locking his gaze with Dark's. Dark growled low in his throat, getting to his feet and producing The Black Wings. Once he'd released the card, he took flight, hovering a good few yards above the ground. To his surprise, the crystal began to grow spikes, as if trying to reach him. Explosion took them out one by one.

Preparing another blast, Krad wondered why it hadn't all ready returned to card form. Hadn't he inflicted enough pain on it? No, as long as it could regenerate... He narrowed his eyes. Tricky, tricky...

"Hey, Dark!" Daisuke yelled, getting an idea.

"What is it?" Dark yelled back, swerving to avoid being hit with some flying debris. He wished Krad would watch where he aimed that card! Krad was probably trying to kill him, though. Dark scowled. It'd be just like that bastard to try and get rid of the competition and capture a card at the same time! Dark ignored the fact that he had only known Krad for a short while and exchanged very few words with him, therefore making it impossible for him to really know if anything was 'just like him'.

"Why don't you try and pierce it with some of the feathers from The Black Wings?" Daisuke shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to make sure his cousin heard him. "It worked with Fairy's Flight, didn't it?"

"What kind of a plan is that?" Krad snorted, blasting another piece of Crystal away with Explosion.

Satoshi, who had been standing quietly in the shadows until now, murmured, "An interesting one." This was a Fallen card, not a Keeper, so there was really no need for him to get involved.

Dark thought about it for a moment. Well, without any other cards, it really was his only choice. Reaching up, he plucked a few feathers from his wings, wincing slightly. Taking aim, he threw them like darts. They landed in the form of a pentagram, each piercing Crystal. "Weird," Dark said. He had just thrown them randomly. How had they ended up in a pattern like that? Hell, he was out here capturing magic cards! He really shouldn't be calling anything 'weird' at the moment.

The pentagram began to glow, a soft purple light surrounding the feathers before it faded away. The Crystal began to recede, and finally a card fluttered to the ground, tinted black and purple. Dark landed quickly, snatching the card up, just in case Krad tried something. He grabbed the pen in his pocket and quickly signed his name, then took one of the feathers and used the edge to draw a drop of blood, pressing the wound against the card. "Gotcha," He hummed quietly to himself, grinning cockily, first at the card, then at Krad.

The other candidate clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes, but said nothing, simply slipping Explosion back into the pocket of his trench coat.

"Hiwatari!" Daisuke called, racing across the now clear street.

"I don't get that kid," Dark muttered lowly, wondering why Daisuke was associating with the enemy.

Satoshi looked up, "Niwa?" He asked, seeming slightly confused.

Daisuke came to a halt in front of him, smiling up at the taller boy, "Are you all right?" He asked.

Satoshi blinked, "...Yes, I'm quite fine." He stated slowly, a bit confused with Daisuke's actions. A small smile made its way on to his lips. Daisuke was probably just one of those people who worried about others first and themselves second. "And you, are you all right?" He asked in return.

Daisuke nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine!" He grinned, "Some of the rubble came pretty close to hitting me, but I just used Shield to guard me and Risa." He waved a hand in the direction of the girl, who was busy celebrating the capture of a card for their side with Dark.

"The guardian, right?" Satoshi asked, adjusting his glasses. Daisuke nodded. "Interesting," Satoshi murmured, feeling a bit relieved, though there really wasn't any reason for him to be. "Krad should work on his aim, though."

"Satoshi," Krad barked, narrowing his golden eyes. "That's enough small talk. You can gossip all you like at school." He turned, striding down the street in a way that screamed annoyance.

"Well," Daisuke said as Satoshi began to walk away. "I guess I'll see you at school then!" He smiled brightly.

Satoshi paused before continuing on his way, "See you at school, Niwa." He said without turning around to look at Daisuke.

"Bye," The red-head called as he himself trotted back over to Dark and Risa.

* * *

The winter holidays were fast approaching. Specifically, Christmas.

Emiko had been rather extravagant with the decorations this year, hanging up wreaths and mistletoe. Dark and Daisuke took it upon themselves to take down the latter when the woman wasn't looking and then blame the lack of it on With. With himself was decorated with a little green bow tied around his neck. "To go with his eyes," Emiko had said. No one had argued, except With, who had 'kyuu'ed pitifully about it for several days, trying without any success to claw it off.

Risa was a bit confused as to what all the hype was about. Upon realizing that she didn't actually know what Christmas was, Dark had proclaimed her a poor, deprived child (to which she had huffily informed him that she was several hundreds of years his elder) and had taken it upon himself to show her the ropes of the holiday season.

Daisuke later had to inform her that it wasn't all about chubby men breaking and entering and enslaved reindeer.

In Daisuke's class, the upcoming holiday seemed to be the most important matter. Everyone was chattering about what their family usually did for Christmas and what they hoped to get and so on. Well, almost everyone.

Only half-listening to Takeshi, Daisuke propped his chin up on his hands and stared at Satoshi. The blue haired boy was simply writing in his notebook. His face was blank, without any expression but Daisuke could have sworn he looked lonely.

"Hey, Dai, what're you doing?" Takeshi asked as Daisuke rose from his seat.

Waving his friend off, Daisuke said, "I'll be back in a minute!"

Takeshi blinked and looked over at Masahiro, who shrugged in response.

Daisuke quickly crossed the distance between his desk and Satoshi's, stopping when he stood right by the other boy. "Good morning," He greeted cheerfully.

Satoshi put his pen down and looked up, "The same to you." He replied calmly.

"How have you been?" Daisuke asked, trying to find grounds for conversation.

Satoshi hesitated before replying, "I'm fine. A little tired, maybe. Krad kept me up half the night, raging about how Dark captured Crystal." He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

Daisuke laughed, "Yeah, Dark was like that when Krad captured Chains."

"They really can't stand each other, can they?" Despite all his efforts, Satoshi couldn't help the small smile that was spreading across his face.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Daisuke winked. Satoshi raised one eyebrow, a tiny amount of confusion in his blue eyes.

"Never mind," Daisuke shook his head, amusement evident in his voice. "So, uh, what are you doing for Christmas?" He changed the subject.

"Nothing." Satoshi flatly replied.

Daisuke leaned forward a bit, frowning slightly, "What do you mean, nothing?" He asked, staring the blue eyed boy down.

Satoshi blinked up at the red-head, "Nothing." He replied.

"You mean you and your family don't do anything at all?" Daisuke pressed.

"Well, it would be rather difficult if we did." Satoshi said, "I don't live with my family. Just Krad."

"Oh," Daisuke said slowly. He stared over the top of Satoshi's head, looking out the window.

"To us," Satoshi continued, "Christmas is just another day. I don't think we've ever done anything for it."

"Well," Daisuke took his gaze away from the window, looking at Satoshi once again. "Would you like to?"

Satoshi blinked twice, "...What do you mean?" He finally asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Come over to my house for Christmas! You and Krad both!" Daisuke said with a grin, "My family always makes a huge deal out of the holidays, and my mother always cooks way more food then we could ever eat! I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we had some guests. In fact," his grin grew wider, "she'd probably love it."

Satoshi simply stared at the other boy for a minute. "You're inviting me over for Christmas," He stated slowly, as if this was something that was impossible to comprehend.

"Yes," Daisuke nodded. "You don't have to decide if you want to come right away."

The bell rang and Daisuke turned to go back to his seat, "Just tell me when you do decide!" He said over his shoulder.

"Niwa," Satoshi called and Daisuke turned, staring at the other boy. "Krad and I accept." He said with a nod and a small smile.

Daisuke smiled back, taking his seat as Takeshi and Masahiro exchanged confused glances.

* * *

Daisuke wasn't quite sure how to break the news to Dark. He knew it wouldn't go over well, but he had to tell his cousin at some point. He contemplated this issue on their walk back from school.

"So, Dark," Daisuke finally spoke, deciding that it was now or never. "How are you getting along with Krad?"

"He's an evil, card-stealing bastard and I hate him."

Daisuke sighed. This was going to be tough. "Dark, I've got something to tell you that you're not going to like."

Dark's eyes narrowed slightly, "Daaaai..." He said slowly, "What did you do?"

The red-head laughed nervously, "I kind of invited Hiwatari over for Christmas. Krad too."

"What!" Dark all but shrieked, rounding on his cousin, "Why? Why Daisuke? Why have you committed this traitorous act?"

"I was being nice!" Daisuke protested, holding up his hands in defense. "Hiwatari said that he never did anything for Christmas! I felt bad for him!"

"That doesn't constitute inviting someone over! Especially someone who's hell bent on stealing the cards from us!"

Daisuke ran a hand through his hair, "I don't think Hiwatari is 'hell bent' on it, Dark." He pulled out his house key as they approached their destination.

Dark sighed, almost pouting, "Well, did you have to invite that other bastard over too?"

"Yes. Yes I did." Daisuke said flatly, walking up to the door and inserting the key.

Dark grumbled to himself as Daisuke called out a greeting, shutting the door behind them.

That's when the bamboo cage Emiko had rigged up fell, trapping them.

"Fantastic..."

* * *

Card Three- Captured

* * *

A shorter chapter then last time, but I'm pretty happy with it. The last two segments were a lot of fun to write. Heheh. What will happen at Christmas time, I wonder...? X3

On another note, I have an offer for anyone who'd like a GMail account. I currently have a ton of invites and practically no one to give them to. For details, see my DeviantART page, found in my bio. The journal entry is labeled GMail and it should be one or two back. Click Journal and you'll find it. If you want one, just leave a comment there (please do mention that you saw this note in Angel Cards so I have a vague idea of who you are). Or e-mail me about this at the address in my bio. Thanks!

Reviews are much appreciated.


	4. Interlude I Dreams and Christmas

**Author's Note:** First things first, I'm not dead. Really. Contrary to popular belief, I am alive. I just haven't had much writing time lately... not much over the entire year, but especially not now.

First, I'm going to apologize for taking this long. I really didn't mean to. You see, the thing is, my mom's computer has been in that almost-but-not-quite-dead state for ages now. Just recently she decided to buy another one, but then the retrograde (eh, it's an astrological thing) came and now we have to wait about another week or something. Basically, over the summer, my computer has been the "family computer", meaning that mom needs it for work, my brother needs it for schoolwork, and I need it for both. Which leaves me with very little writing time. To top it off, mom started panicking about college and now I'm on the academic fast track, working through the summer (I'm homeschooled, by the way), because mom thinks it'd be wonderful if I could get into college two years early. Yay and no yay at the same time.

Anyway, moving away from the rant, I've got to say: gracias! Domo arigatou! And a big fat THANK YOU! Everyone who reviewed, you guys are the greatest! Over 40 reviews for three chapters! I never expected to such a response for this fic! I love you all! And because of you, I will work hard to get these chapters out faster then before!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them.

---

The Angel Cards

Chapter Four

By Amethyst Bubble

---

"What do you mean, they invited us over for Christmas?"

"Niwa invited us. Is it that hard to comprehend?"

"...I don't understand that boy. Ha, did he seem disappointed when you declined, too?"

"...Satoshi? _Please _tell me you declined."

"...Well, I couldn't really..."

"What do you mean, you COULDN'T? You say 'no', it's that simple!"

"It's just that the invitation was so out of the blue-"

"It was unexpected, so you said 'yes'!"

"...Yes. It was a nice gesture, Krad. I'm sure it'll be-"

"Don't say fun. Just don't."

"...I'm sure it'll be _enjoyable_."

"That's as bad as fun."

"Just promise me you'll be pleasant. At the very least, promise me you'll be polite."

"I won't have to. What's the phone number? I'm calling right now and telling them that we have other plans."

"You will NOT! Besides, Niwa already knows that we don't do anything for Christmas."

"Then you'll just have to be violently ill."

"_Krad_!"

"Don't make me put poison in your food, Satoshi. I'll do it just to get out of the 'wonderful' evening with the other captors that you've signed us up for."

"Krad, we are going. That's final."

"_You_ can go then! I'm staying right here and spending Christmas like I normally do."

"Slaughtering small children and collecting their blood in glass jars, in order to ruin the spirit of the season for several more people?"

"Yes, yes, that's EXACTLY what I'll be doing, because I'm just that horrible of a human being."

"You're going and that's final."

"And just how, dear Sato, are you going to _make_ me?"

Satoshi's blue eyes glimmered from behind his glasses.

Krad cursed himself for challenging him.

---

To say that Emiko Niwa was delighted to have extra guests for the holiday was an understatement. That is, until, she learned exactly _who _those guests were.

"You invited the other captors?" She wailed, aghast at her son's actions. "But...but...but WHY?" She demanded, wrapping her son in a tight hug as she felt his forehead, "You feel a little warm... Could it be a fever?"

"Mooom!" Daisuke wailed above his mother's fussing, "I'm NOT sick! I just figured that it would be NICE! Hiwatari said that they never did anything for Christmas, so I thought it would be nice to invite them over! Besides, they're really nice!"

"I don't think this scar will ever fade away," Dark commented lightly from the table, examining his palm as if to tell Emiko exactly how nice Krad was.

"They could try and steal the cards from you two!" Emiko gasped, whirling around to stare out the kitchen window, as if suspecting that the other two captors were out there _right then, _listening in our their conversation.

Risa shook her head, "No captor would be so dishonorable." She said, taking another sip of her newest discovery, hot cocoa.

"And why not?" Emiko demanded to know, "What's stopping them from arriving and taking the cards out from under our very noses?"

"Because," Risa took a dainty sip, savoring the rich flavor, before continuing. "Bad things happen to those who disobey the rules of the cards. And of course, those rules include no stealing." This said, she gave a haughty toss of her head before returning to her mug. She had missed so much while being sealed away in that book and now she had to make up for lost time.

"It's true," Daiki nodded to his daughter. "There are a set of rules to follow, and nasty things have always happened to captors who blatantly disobey them."

Dark's eyes widened a bit, "What happens?"

Daiki shrugged, "It depends. The punishment isn't set in stone. The cards have a way of taking things into their own hands. They are living creatures, you know. They may look like objects, but they have minds of their own. It's not wise to make them cross."

"What are the rules, then?" Dark questioned further, leaning farther, obviously excited about this new-found danger.

Daiki shrugged again, "That's the problem. They aren't written down. It's just an obscure bit of knowledge amongst those who have learned of the cards through some way or another."

"Oh," Dark sounded rather disappointed, sitting back and sighing slightly.

Risa spoke up, "You don't really need to know the rules, as they're pretty much just common sense. Don't steal cards that have already been sealed by other captors, don't rip, tear or attempt to harm or destroy the cards in any way, treat the cards with respect..." She rattled off in a bored manner.

"Seems simple enough," Daisuke nodded to himself.

"It is," Risa affirmed. "I honestly don't know why people make such a fuss over the cards... They are relatively simple in themselves. The cards themselves are not what you should be worried about. I will tell you right now that no captor has ever died in the process of capturing the cards."

Dark grinned, "Good, because "death by magic cardboard" would really look pathetic on my tombstone."

"I like that," Daisuke joked, poking Dark. "That's what I'm going to have inscribed on it when you become the first person to get killed by the cards."

"You're mean," Dark poked him back, sticking his tongue out at his red-headed cousin.

"And you're disgusting."

"Boys," Emiko cut in, her hands on her hips. A small frown was on her face and she tapped one foot against the kitchen floor in an agitated manner. "We are not done with our discussion here. Even if the other captors do not try and steal the cards, the fact still remained that they are coming over for Christmas dinner. What are we to do?" She sighed dramatically and continued before anyone else could offer a suggestion, "I suppose we'll just have to be gracious hosts and welcome then into our home."

"We could just turn off all the lights and pretend not to be home. They'll have to go away eventually," Dark offered.

Risa sighed, "Just invite them in. Hopefully, the Fallen candidates won't try and kill each other... And if they do, Dark will just have to win, won't he?"

"It's nice to know you have such confidence in me..."

---

"Why are you buying flowers?" Krad snapped with impatience, glaring at Satoshi as he examined a bouquet of roses and lavender.

"It's common courtesy. They invited us into their home-"

"Some of us didn't want to be invited!"

"-so we should show our appreciation with a small gift. Flowers or food are usually a good idea," Satoshi explained in a tired tone. "Honestly, though, I don't care much for cooking myself and I just don't trust you around the stove. Nor do I trust you not to poison the dish. Therefore, food is eliminated. Flowers will have to do."

"First, you drag me into this fiasco, then you tell me we have to bring them gifts?" Krad crossed him arms over his chest and sent a glare towards the girl at the counter. She'd been listening in on their _private _conversation ever since they had entered. He couldn't stand eavesdroppers.

"It's common courtesy." Satoshi finally picked up a bunch the cellophane wrapped blossoms.

Krad closed his eyes and focused on the damp, slightly sweet smell in the shop, "It's ridiculous."

"I didn't say it wasn't, but it's considered polite all the same," Satoshi said over his shoulder as he approached the counter. The salesgirl wrung up the bouquet quickly.

"Anything else, sir?" She asked, nervously watching Krad out of the corner of her eye. He looked like he was trying to make the shop burst into flames with sheer will power alone. She strained to keep her polite smile in place.

"No, that'll be all," The blue-haired boy answered as he handed her the appropriate amount of money.

"Please come again," She smiled, her eyes fixed on their backs as they left the shop. Finally, the door swung close, the bell attached to it ringing slightly, and she slumped down on her stool, sighing.

Why did she always get the scary customers?

---

That night, the night before Christmas Eve, Dark's sleep was fitful and filled with odd dreams, different then the one's he'd always had before.

A name was whispered, but he couldn't quite catch it. "Do you really want to do this?" Golden eyes were fixed on his face; a pale hand brushed against his shoulder, traveled down his arm and came to rest on his own hand. Slowly, he weaved his fingers in with the others, marveling at the difference in skin tone.

"I..." he glanced down at stain glass windows, stone gargoyles and ivy that slowly crept up the stone walls. "Yes. It's our only option, isn't it?" A pause. "...We're going to die either way. I won't give those paper bastards the satisfaction of killing us." A ghost of his old, cocky grin was back on his face for a moment. "Our lives are our own. My blood will only be spilled by my own hands. You understand that, don't you?"

"No one understands better then me." The other paused, his blond hair cascading over his shoulders, "It just seems a little melodramatic is all."

"Suicide tends to be, love." He tried to laugh, but it caught in his throat and made him choke. He lowered his head onto his lover's shoulder, knowing well that it would be the last time they were together like this. Maybe they would meet again in another world, another realm, another life... But never exactly like this. No, never like this.

Long, white clad arms wrapped around him, one hand resting against the small of his back. "I meant the method, dear." He clucked his tongue, "Jumping off a church roof? What would your parents say, I wonder?"

"Fuck them." He spat out the words, a bitter taste in his mouth. "Fuck them and fuck the cards! I hate them all! I do, I do, I do!" His breathing grew harsh and labored. The arms around him tightened.

"Hush now. I'm not saying your reasons are unfounded. Don't cry or I'll have to hit you."

"I'm not crying." He was too proud for tears. So he sucked in a quick breath and clung to the tall, lean figure besides him. "I hate the cards. Don't you? Those creepy little paper bastards-"

"I get it." Breaking off the embrace, the white clad figure stood and stared at the stars above them. "I agree with you that they are prejudiced little things... And it's quite insane that they should have such power over us. After all, aren't we their captors?"

Drawing one card and one card alone out of the pocket of his black coat, he looked it over with violet eyes, "What do you say, WISH?" He breathed, staring at the plain black and white card in his grip. A warm gust of wind encircled him, whipping his hair around and whispering something in a secret language. "WISH agrees with us." He slipped the card back into his pocket.

Golden eyes regarded him, "You brought a card along with you?"

He pouted, "WISH isn't like the other cards. WISH is special."

"If you say so, beloved." He looked at the clock tower in the distance, acknowledging that it was twenty minutes to the hour. "It's almost time. Are you ready?"

"Since the day I was chosen as captor," despite his words, his legs were shaky as he stood. "Since the day I saw the cards for the first time. Since the day the Fallen deck told me they hated you, that it wasn't right for me to be with you, love you, since the day we found first found this place... I've been waiting for this moment all along." The night air ruffled his hair and clothes. "It's actually kind of freeing, knowing that I'm about to jump off this roof and there's nothing they can do about." He laughed, bitter and hollow though it was. "Risa will be mad at me, though."

"Mm."

"But..." his eyes trailed over the graceful figure, taking everything about him in and feeling his heart turn to lead. "There's no reason for you to die. Your cards, they listen to you... They might not approve, but they fear you so they won't say anything... and once I'm gone..." He stopped abruptly as he was caught up in a tight hug.

"Don't be stupid. Not now. If you jump, I jump. That's the way it works. So shut up before I make you."

"Yeah?" He couldn't help but grin, something prickling behind his eyes. "And how would you do that?"

And then lips were on his. They were cold from the night air, chapped. The kiss was hasty, rushed, their teeth crashed together and they both winced. They were both too aggressive, too needy, too hungry. They forgot to breathe, forgot to think or feel. It had all the grounds for an absolutely disastrous kiss, but oh, how wonderful it was for them.

Finally, when their lungs burned so much it was unbearable, they broke apart, panting hard and gripping at each other's arms in a half-embrace.

"Our last kiss." There was a satisfied smile on his face, but his violet eyes conflicted with that.

"Don't cry. If you cry-"

"You'll have to hit me. I know, I know." He took a shuddery breath. "You ready?"

"Are you?"

"...Yes."

Golden eyes regarded him, "Then I'm ready."

Still clasping each other by the arms, they watched the clock tower in the distance as it slowly, slowly inched towards the hour mark.

One, he counted under his breath. Two, three, four, five, six, seven...

His breath caught as the hand reached the top and the bells began to sound.

He didn't know who jumped first, him or his lover. It didn't matter. One of them took the plunge and dragged the other down with him. Then they were falling, falling, falling, the ground coming closer and closer and closer and--

Dark awoke with a gasp, sitting straight up and clawing at the blankets. "What... w_as _that?" He asked his ceiling between pants. Something about a church, and the cards, and... Oh, the images were escaping his grasp already.

Golden eyes.

Yes, that's right; he could clearly remember a pair of golden eyes. He'd seen them somewhere before, hadn't he? But where? Who had they belonged to? He couldn't remember. All that stayed with him was those eyes and the feeling of falling, the cobble stones coming up to meet him at an alarming speed...

But he wasn't alone, was he? No, never alone...

"Never alone..." He murmured faintly, his gaze shifting to the digital clock on his bedside table. The red letters blinked 3:27 AM over and over. Dark sighed and wondered if there was any chance of him getting back to sleep at all that night...

"Dark?" The door creaked open and a ray of light illuminated his floor. His cousin stood in the doorway, rubbing one ruby eye with a fist. "Is there something wrong? I could hear you talking in your sleep..."

"Nah, it's nothing, Dai. You can go back to sleep." He smiled shakily at the red-head.

"Nuh-uh," Daisuke shook his head back and forth stubbornly. "I know you an' it's never nothing." He trotted into the room, kicking the door closed before plopping down at the end of the purple-haired teen's bed. "So, what happened?"

"Just a dream..." Dark reached out to ruffle Daisuke's spiky locks, his smile growing a little steadier as the younger boy batted his hand away.

"A bad one?"

Dark paused, trying to remember the details. "...Can't remember," he brushed some of the longer strands of his hair back. "You said I was talking in my sleep?"

The red-head nodded sleepily. "Yeah," he grabbed the end of one of Dark's blankets and tugged it around himself.

"What did I say?" Dark leaned forward, hoping to gain some insight into his dream. Maybe if Daisuke could tell him what he'd said, he might remember what exactly it had been about and... Why was this bothering him so much anyway?

"I don't know," Daisuke said huffily as he stretched out beside Dark and closed his eyes. "I'm underneath your stupid, freezing attic room, not next to it... Your obnoxiously loud voice doesn't carry _that _much."

"...You're mean when you're tired." Dark said, hesitantly lying back down. "So you really couldn't hear what I was saying?"

Daisuke cracked open one eye, "No. Why?"

Dark shrugged, pulling the blankets that Daisuke hadn't stolen up over his shoulders. "I just can't remember my dream is all... I thought, maybe, if you had heard what I said, I might be able to figure it out."

Daisuke frowned, raising himself up on his elbows. "I did some research at the library a few days ago-" Dark groaned and Daisuke slapped him lightly. "As I was saying, I did some research. On dreams, that is." He paused, as if wondering how to put change his thoughts into words. "Those dreams we had, the ones we can't remember... Well, I was thinking that maybe they were prophetic."

"Like what, they were psychic dreams or something?" Dark's brow furrowed.

Daisuke rolled his eyes, "Well, yeah, I guess you could put it like that... But anyway, maybe this dream you just had was prophetic too. Did it have to do with the cards?"

Dark thought hard and a shudder ran through him. He cast a hesitant glance at the Fallen book on his desk. "Yeah, I think so..." He averted his eyes from the book. He didn't want to look at it right now. It bothered him.

"I think that the cards are trying to send us visions of some event in the future, something that has to do with them, so we'll be prepared when it arrives." Daisuke yawned, his red eyes sliding shut again.

"How are we supposed to be prepared if we can't remember the warnings?" Dark raised one eyebrow. Daisuke shrugged.

"Who knows? I'm going to guess that your dream was something like that..." His voice faded, a sure sign that he was half way to dream land himself.

Dark lay awake for another hour, staring at his ceiling and thinking about the dream, the cards, turning the word "prophetic" over in his mind.

"I hope it's not," he hissed, his chest tightening over something he just couldn't remember. "I hope it's not."

---

Krad had a hard time sleeping that night, stretched out on the sofa, glowering. Damn Satoshi signing him up for that damn party with those damn people... And… just... DAMN.

He let out a long, frustrated sigh, rolling onto his side. He reached out and grabbed the remote, flipping on the television in hopes that it would provide enough white noise to put him to sleep. Settling on some news channel, he closed his eyes and let the nasal voice of the reporter lull him into a relaxed state.

"Ta-da!" His violet-eyed lover exclaimed, whirling around and gesturing for him to examine the black wings that had magically sprouted from his back.

"They're magnificent," he ran a long finger down a feather, relishing the shiver it sent up the other's back. "How'd you do it?"

"Magic!" He exclaimed happily, turning around and throwing his arms around the other's neck. "Grandpa said that the cards can do all this and more." The wings on his back grew dim and faded from sight. "Right now, they only last a few minutes, but once I have the cards…" there was a gleam in his eyes. "I'll be able to do all sorts of things. By the way..." he pulled back just enough for his lover to catch a glimpse of the mock-pout he wore. "Did you forget what day it is?"

His grin was feral as he leaned forward to nip at the other's neck, "Now, now, love! Have some faith in me! Do you honestly think I would forget..."

The violet-eyed boy waited impatiently for him to finish, dragging his nails lightly down the blond's sides, finally letting his hands rest on slender hips.

"Did you really think that I would forget... Friday?" He fought the urge to snicker as the other hit him over the head.

"That's not fair!"

"Honestly now, you didn't think I would forget your birthday?" He paused, "...Though it is Friday too." He added the last part under his breath. "Here," he presented the other with a small box. Inside lay a small pendant in the shape of a white wing folded in on itself.

The other thanked him enthusiastically, slipping the light chain over his neck and hiding the charm under his clothes, "They'll ask where I got it if they see it." He explained, something dark flashing in his eyes.

He nodded sympathetically and brushed back his blond hair to show the other that he wore a matching pendant. A black wing, spread open in preparation for flight contrasted sharply from where it lay against his pale chest.

His lover smiled brightly but behind him, something flickered, and for a split second, golden eyes caught sight of dozens of tiny demons clustered around the figure of his beloved, grinning maliciously.

"...Is something wrong?"

"No... no, nothing. Happy birthday."

As Krad's eyes fluttered open, he slowly drew a hand over his chest, as if searching for the pendant in his dreams. But as soon as the weather man began talking about the chance of a white Christmas, the trance broke and Krad snapped back to his senses.

He frowned, trying to make himself comfy again. Why couldn't Satoshi have gotten an apartment with two bedrooms? Was that too much to ask?

Ignoring the white specters ripping at his hair and clothes, he tried to beat off the little demons that tortured his lover. Screaming in frustration and pain, he found a familiar black clad arm and yanked, pulling the violet-eyed boy up to his feet. Commanding Army of Angels to return to card form, he broke into a run, never once letting go of the other, even when he felt him stumble. He kept pulling him along because he knew that if he stopped for even a second, the little demons would overtake them.

Kicking open door of the first building he approached, he ran inside, dragging his lover behind him. He closed the door with some effort. Finally, when it had been shut, he took a look at their surroundings.

"Church," the violet-eyed boy's lips twisted into a bitter smirk. "Our 'devil magic' isn't welcomed here, huh?"

He almost laughed. "Holy ground. Stray cards can't follow us here."

"I don't know about that..." Violet eyes caught sight of a ladder. "Hey... that leads up to the roof, doesn't it?"

It was on that night that they first discovered the roof that would ultimately be their escape.

"You're talking in your sleep, you know." He awoke with a start to see Satoshi standing over him, bleary eyed. He held the remote in one limp hand and the television had been shut off.

Krad stared up at Satoshi, "What the hell are you doing up?" He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck, "You're usually out of it for ages when you wake up..."

Satoshi shrugged, "You've been tossing and turning and keeping me up for a half an hour. I just found the strength to get out of bed and come wake you up now."

"Figures," Krad rolled his eyes.

"As I said, you were talking in your sleep." Satoshi took a seat at the end of the couch. "More dreams about the cards?"

"…No, I don't think so."

Satoshi stared blankly at him, eyes slightly unfocused.

Krad relented under the gaze, "Not directly, at least." Trying to turn the tables, he forced a smirk, "And you? I suppose you have dreams about the other Keeper candidate, no?" He said in innocently enough, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes.

Satoshi threw the remote at his forehead (and, dammit, wouldn't you know that he had good aim?), standing up and stalking out of the room. "Go to bed, Krad. We've got a party to go to tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah," Krad growled, pulling a pillow over his aching forehead. "Good night to you to, Dear Sato."

---

Emiko was dashing around like a madwoman that evening, putting the final touches on everything. Daisuke, Dark and Risa had been put on welcoming duty and the three stood awkwardly in the hallway, awaiting their guests.

"Didn't you take all those down?" Risa pointed the sprigs of greenery placed under just about every doorway in the Niwa household. Daisuke sighed.

"Well, we tried, but she caught us… and made us put it all back."

Risa shot him a puzzled look, "What's it all for, anyway? I mean, it's pretty and all, but…"

The red-head, who had been on "explain the odd traditions to the guardian" duty, immediately spoke up, "It's mistletoe. When two people stand beneath it, they have to kiss."

She blinked, "…Why?"

"It's tradition," Dark put in with a wink and a grin in the petite girl's direction. Risa smiled back, batting her eyelashes in an exaggerated manner. Daisuke felt like banging his head against a wall.

"Stop it, the both of you."

"Yes, sir," they muttered in unison, shooting conspiratory glances at each other behind his back.

It was then that the doorbell rang. Daisuke moved to open it but Dark stepped in front of him, waving his arms around wildly. "Move, Dark," Daisuke said in a warning tone, glaring up at the taller teenager.

"C'mon, Daisuke, we don't really want them here! If we leave 'em out there, they'll have to go away EVENTUALLY, won't they?" He begged, trying to block off the door from his cousin.

"We can hear you out here, loudmouth," Krad's voice drifted faintly through the wooden door. "And I don't want to be here anymore then you want me here, so open up the damn door already before I break it down!"

"Krad, you said you would behave!" Satoshi's voice snapped.

"I said no such thing!" Krad protested.

Daisuke shoved Dark aside and opened the door wide, beckoning their guests in with a warm smile. "Hikari, Hiwatari, welcome!"

Satoshi entered, returning Daisuke's smile hesitantly. Krad cast a mournful look at the snowy outdoors before moving inside.

"Merry Christmas," Daisuke smiled, taking Satoshi's coat, and after the blue-haired boy had glared enough, Krad's too.

"And to you, Niwa," Satoshi presented the red-head with the bouquet he'd bought the other day. "Here, for the house. Merry Christmas."

Daisuke's face colored slightly, "Thank you." He grinned. "I'll go put them in some water." He ran off to go do so. Dark and Risa stood awkwardly in the hall, wondering what to do now that they had been abandoned, left to deal with the enemy.

"So, uh, I'll go help Daisuke!" Risa said after taking one look at Krad. She slunk away hurriedly, trying to ignore the piercing golden gaze on her back. "Dark, entertain our guests!" She called over her shoulder as she disappeared around a corner.

Dark cursed under his breath. "So, uh…" he turned to Krad and Satoshi. "Go on in?" He coughed, not really knowing what to say.

"Thank you," Satoshi said coolly, walking past him. Krad moved to follow, but hesitated once he stood next to Dark.

"…What?" The violet-eyed boy raised an eyebrow, hands on his hips. That's when golden eyes met his own.

Fallingfallingfallingfallingfalling…

Dark bit his lip against the sudden rush of vertigo that came over him.

"There's mistletoe all over the place," Krad said in a disapproving tone. For a moment, Dark thought the other might try and kiss him but Krad moved out of the hallway before Dark was even done with the thought.

"…Jerk," He muttered, wondering why exactly he didn't feel very relieved.

---

Dinner was an almost alarmingly peaceful affair. Satoshi and Daisuke talked like old friends, Risa focused on her food, and Dark and Krad took painful measures to ignore each other.

After dinner, Emiko cheerfully suggested that the children go upstairs and it was reluctantly decided that they would go to Dark's room, as it was bigger then Daisuke's. Daisuke and Dark led the others up (Dark muttering, well, darkly the whole time), with Risa bringing up the rear. She had taken it upon herself to keep an eye on the other candidates, just in case they tried something fishy.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Dark reached up and pulled on a low hanging cord in the ceiling, and then stepped out of the way quickly as an old rickety staircase quite literarily crashed into being. Dark began to walk up it without so much as a glance behind him, but Daisuke chose to be a little more considerate.

"Sorry, it's a little surprising the first time 'round, isn't it?" He smiled sheepishly at the other two boys.

"A little," Satoshi admitted as he followed Daisuke. Krad just shrugged. Risa glared at the blond's back. She didn't like him much at all.

Dark was already seated on his bed when the rest made it up the staircase. Risa made sure to pull the corresponding cord once she'd reached the landing. The staircase refolded itself and, her job completed, Risa joined the men into the attic.

It was Satoshi who broke the somewhat awkward silence. "Krad and I have a gift for the two of you," he said, elbowing the blond. Somewhat grudgingly, the blond drew several slips of paper out of his pocket, handing them out for Daisuke to take.

Examining the slips, Daisuke traced over the intricate writing that covered them. "What are these?"

"Talismans," Satoshi explained, kneeling next to the red-head. "Like the one's Krad and I use. They can be useful against the cards, at least until you capture more of them."

"IF you capture more of them," Krad muttered. Dark gave him a very rude hand gesture.

Satoshi cleared his throat, "They're pretty easy to work. The ones in red ink are fire talismans, the ones in blue are water and so on and so forth. To work them, just concentrate hard. Like the cards, I suppose."

Dividing the talismans into two equal piles, Daisuke passed one to Dark. "Thank you very much!" He said, getting up. "And Dark and I have a present for the both of you, too."

Dark blinked quizzically, looking up from a wind talisman, "We do?"

"Yes, we do," Daisuke said, pulling open a drawer and handing Satoshi a small, wrapped package. He flushed slightly as Satoshi began to carefully strip off the wrapping paper. "I didn't really know what to get you, but I found a copy of this and I figured…"

Krad leaned over Satoshi's shoulder to read the worn, gilded letters that flowed across the leather bound book. "'Magical Items and Where to Find Them', eh?"

"Maybe there's something about the cards in there," Daisuke suggested.

"You didn't LOOK?" Dark asked in an accusing tone. Daisuke fixed him with a glare.

"Be quiet, Dark."

"Thank you, Niwa," Satoshi said with a smile. "I'm sure it will be a very useful book. It was very considerate of you."

The blush on Daisuke's face darkened slightly.

As if sensing the break in conversation, the tiny window blew open and a bitter, snow filled wind flowed into the room, howling in a ghastly way. Dark and Krad quickly shut it, struggling slightly to close the latch. It wasn't until it was done that they realized they'd actually worked together on something. Both quickly fled to the opposite sides of the room and pretended that the other didn't exist.

The wind continued to bang on the window. Risa walked up to it, hesitantly pressing her hands against the window panes and peering through the glass. After a minute, she spoke.

"You guys had better get out there," she said, squinting at the swirling white flakes outside. "It's Snow, all right."

---

_Card 4- To Be Continued_

---

I guess you guys know what's coming next, huh? The Snow card. Should be fun, no? In the next chapter, we also introduce Daisuke Niwa, card psychologist, and the Fallen captors may actually have to-- GASP-- work together!

I guess this was more of an "interlude" type chapter, but it was a lot of fun to write. Especially the dreams.

Speaking of the dreams, their meaning and purpose will come to light in a few chapters. I should probably say now that the two guys in them aren't who you probably think they are. (Give me a little credit when it comes to a plot as twisted as knotted yarn, would ya?)

Make Ammy a happy girl and review please!


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